meh, high school
by imissmycupcake
Summary: The obligatory Naruto highschool fic! It's overdone, and some of them have come out badly....One more won't hurt. NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina, SasuSaku ohyes. Hopefully IC. On indefinite hiatus, sorry!
1. Intro

My first fic in a long time, and my first Naruto fic ever. I'm nervous! The format won't be like this every chapter, just the first one. I wanted to show their points of view for the beginning, but the rest will be a general third-person view.

Also! Lee, Neji and Tenten are technically a year older, but they're in the same grade as everyone else. It's just more convenient for me, damnit.

**Disclaimer:** Silly lawyers, Naruto's for Masashi Kishimoto!

**Inner Thoughts**

_Secondary Inner thoughts (only for Sakura)_

* * *

**-SAKURA-**

**Don't you dare panic.**

_I'm __**not**__ panicking! Now shut up! I can't keep talking to myself!_

The possibly schizophrenic girl ran a hand through her pink hair self-consciously.

**Ugh, I still can't believe you let Ino dye your hair.**

_Does it look bad?_

**-sigh-**

…**I guess not. But it's so…**

"Pink," she murmured, resting her hands on her hips. Then she grinned at the mirror. She had hips!

But of course…

The smile faltered as she looked at her stubbornly flat chest.

For all the curves she had, she was seriously lacking in _that_ area.

"Sakura, you're going to be late!"

"I'm _going_, Mom! God!"

**Just think about this. When we get to school, maybe we'll see Sasuke! **

The thought made her practically float to school.

**-INO-**

Ino Yamanaka tugged nervously at her shirt. It seemed fine this morning, but now it felt uncomfortable and constricting. Her shoes could have been nicer, too. And what about her hair?! Skipping breakfast had definitely been a good idea. If she'd eaten anything she surely would have thrown it back up just now.

She remembered to breathe and started walking again. Maybe she could beat them there and completely miss them all day.

…Or maybe fate was going to be a bitch.

**-HINATA-**

**Maybe he'll notice me this year.**

She watched him sprint onto the bus and right past her to a seat in the back. He'd gotten even cuter over the summer, she noticed and blushed; he'd gotten a nice tan and his blonde hair was even lighter from being outside every day. She, on the other hand, was disturbingly pale. In her mind she looked sickly and pathetic. She would never catch his attention looking like this, she thought miserably.

No.

She'd promised herself!

**I will talk to him, and I **_**will**_** tell him how I feel!**

If only she knew how to start.

**-TENTEN-**

Tenten stared at the entrance of her new school. It stood there, intimidating her. But for once she wasn't alone in this. She was a freshman in high school now; it would have been a new school for her anyway. She was just like everyone else in her grade. Nervous, excited, and really freaked out.

But starting off with friends would have been nice.

She sighed and felt the odango buns on top of her head to make sure they weren't coming undone, then walked up the steps.

Welcome to Konoha High.

* * *

Very short beginning, yes? If things go as planned, the chapters will be much longer than this. But updates will be few and far between; I'm OCD with editing and re-editing. And I'm also lazy. :) 

Give me opinions! I'm open for suggestions on where anyone would like me to go, and PLEASE criticize mistakes and/or OOC-ness if you see it.


	2. 1st Day: Part I

Hi! I'm now satisfied with this chapter enough to post it. So knock me off my high horse and pick out what's wrong! lol.

My POV situation is weird. It's not first person, but it's centered around one person (usually Tenten). This will most likely switch whenever it's convenient.

* * *

"Ugh!" Tenten smacked her head against the wall. "Why didn't I get here a week earlier?" she moaned to herself. "I could've gone to orientation, and I wouldn't be having issues right now!" 

A voice behind her made her jump. "I think you have issues anyway. I mean, you're having a conversation with yourself."

Tenten blushed and turned to see a boy with a spiky black ponytail leaning against the lockers. He smoked a cigarette casually, looking pretty bad-ass, she had to admit.

"Shut up!" The blonde next to him punched him in the head. He dropped his cigarette.

"Ow! Damn, Ino!"

"Sorry about him." The blonde girl rested her hand behind her neck and grinned. "I'm Ino." She wore her super-long hair in a ponytail with a purple tank top and denim skirt, and her aquamarine eyes were beautiful. To be honest Tenten felt a bit shabby in her plain pink Chinese-style shirt and ripped jeans.

"Tenten."

"And this jackass is Shikamaru."

"Tch." He rested his head against the wall.

"Let me show you around!" Ino said brightly. "Where do you have to be?"

"Ah, Earth Science."

She gasped. "No way, me too! Come on, it's right…here!" They walked inside and Ino gasped again.

"What?" Tenten smiled. Her new friend…or acquaintance, or something, was interesting, and she also seemed to be very comfortable with this place. She hoped they'd be in more classes together.

"Sasuke Uchiha," she murmured. Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"He is _so_ cute, and he's in our class! I can't believe it! Look, but just don't be obvious." Ino pointed inconspicuously toward the back corner.

Damn him, he had taken her favorite spot. Back right corner, next to the window, strategically picked for privacy. His emo hair was styled to perfection, and his shirt was dark-blue. He had coal-black eyes that stared out the window in an almost practiced faraway look.

"Eh."

Ino's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, "eh"?! He's so hot!"

She shrugged. "Sure, he's cute. If you like that sort of thing."

"Whatever, more for me."

Tenten laughed and sat down next to Ino, who had raced to sit beside Sasuke.

"Hi Sasuke," Ino said seductively.

"Hn."

"SASUKE!"

The boy jumped at the sound of another squeal. "Jesus," he mumbled.

A girl with light pink hair sat in front of him. Her tiny red hoodie clashed with her hair, but she still looked cute. A blush spread across the bridge of her nose and she smiled shyly. "Hi, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"Not much of a talker, is he?" Tenten muttered with a smirk.

"Oh! Hi…" the pink haired girl said with an awkward smile. Why couldn't she remember her?

"Sakura, this is Tenten. Tenten, we call her Forehead Girl."

Sakura blushed and sat down in front of her to catch up with what they did over the summer.

-2nd Period (Gym)-

Tenten hopped up and down to get ready to run. Their teacher had earlier told them that they would be running 100 laps a week. She seriously hoped that he was kidding or bad at math, seeing as that would mean twenty laps a day, coming to a total of five miles. Every day. Not fun.

And another thing. Gym class was co-ed.

Normally this wasn't really a bad thing. Tenten was secretly a tomboy, and she loved to play sports with guys. No worrying about hair or dirty shoes, just kicking some ass. But running? She did not appreciate hormonally-challenged perverts studying which parts of her anatomy bounced the most while she ran around a track, thankyouverymuch.

She sighed and took off at the sound of him yelling, "Go!"

A boy dressed all in green sped past her, a grin on his face.

**Is he on steroids? **she wondered incredulously. She needed to get ahead; she had more stamina than this. She had to find someone to match pace with. 

Her eyes caught a boy with brown hair, much longer than most guys would wear it. It swung when he ran and she giggled at the sight.

His head turned and he stared at her. Tenten's stomach dropped, but she just stared back with an earnest look on her face. It was like staring at a solar eclipse.

When he finally broke his gaze she looked him over. Loose clothing, but his arms were well-muscled. And his eyes…his eyes were mesmerizing.

-Lunch-

"Before you get any further into school, you have to know who's who. Well, the important ones at least." Ino tossed her hair and sat. Sakura and Tenten did the same. (er, minus the hair-flipping.)

"You already know Sasuke. He's the most important…" She tilted her head and tried to think.

"What's with you and Shikamaru?" Sakura interrupted (probably to get her mind off Sasuke).

"Nothing!" Her cheeks tinted pink. Sakura looked at her with a smug, all-knowing look until she snapped, "He's just my dad's best friend's son, okay? They used to hang out and brought us along. Choji and his dad came too, but they're total stoners now."

They glanced over at the two of them. Shikamaru was attempting to sleep, but his eyebrow seemed to have a twitch at the moment. Choji ate contentedly beside him.

"Y'know we can hear you," Shikamaru said, opening one eye.

"It's not like you'd get up and do anything about it, lazy ass."

"Excellent point." He closed it and buried his face in his crossed arms.

"Moving on…" Ino continued with her search. "Oh! That's Kiba."

"What about him?"

"He's insane."

"Oh he is not." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"The boy brings his dog to school!"

Tenten's eyes widened. "How?"

"That jacket he wears. He looks a lot cuter without that stupid hood…but anyway. He just smuggles him inside. Akamaru's so cute, and he trained him not to bark or anything while they're in class."

"Huh."

"Don't forget Shino."

"Oh right! He's really smart, but really antisocial." Ino pouted at this. If you were antisocial, Ino would either beat it out of you or eventually give up. She'd given up with Shino.

"And we're not really sure if he hates Kiba or if they're best friends." They pondered this as Kiba flicked the boy's head repeatedly.

"So who else?" Tenten encouraged. She looked for someone recognizable. "How about…him?"

Ino smirked. "Neji? He's the second most popular guy in our school. Why, are you interested in him?"

That was a dangerous smile.

Speak carefully.

She went for nonchalant. "Please, I don't even know him. I remember seeing him from my gym class, that's all."

"You're in his gym class?" she squealed. "Well aren't you freaking lucky!"

Tenten smiled to herself and looked over at him again. Now that he was out of his gym clothes he looked even cuter. Though she'd never really liked the preppy look before, she was definitely willing to make an exception. But she had to know about his eyes. They were so different.

Neji…

"Don't ask him about it." Sakura told her, realizing what she was thinking. "It runs in his family. Trust me, he's wicked sensitive about it. These guys used to make fun of him for it."

"But Hinata took it harder."

"Hinata?"

"Neji's cousin," Sakura supplied. "She's really shy now, hardly ever talks. And when she does she stutters a little, poor thing. Oh, but the weirdest thing about Hinata is that she has a crush on-"

"OI! SAKURA!"

She groaned. "Naruto…"

A boy with an orange skull-cap and cargo shorts sat down next to Sakura. His blonde bangs peeked out from under the hat, hanging messily over his innocent blue eyes. He grinned at her and she grimaced in reply. "Who are you?" he asked when he saw the unfamiliar face.

"I'm Tenten." God, she was getting tired of introducing herself.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I-"

"-like ramen," Ino finished. "We know."

"Bitch," he mumbled, earning a punch in the head.

"See, that's why you never say it out loud," Shikamaru explained.

"Hey, Pineapple-head. Shut the hell up."

Tenten giggled.

-4th Period (English)-

Their whole group filled the classroom. It seemed that everyone had English now, even him. Tenten fiddled with her pencil, wishing it were her pocketknife. She loved that knife; it was like her security blanket. Whenever she was nervous she would just flip it out and feel at ease. But no, it was a "weapon" and "not safe for others around her". Bullshit. Tenten _knew_ how to handle a knife.

"In this class, we will be reading Shakespeare," their teacher said, handing out the books. The title read: _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. Some flipped through the pages idly. "You will be reading in class and at home, but no skipping ahead. After every scene, you will write a paragraph in your own words explaining what happened."

"But this is in Old English," Naruto moaned.

"That's the point. Your job is to interpret it. And take off the hat." The blonde mumbled something unintelligible and probably not very complimentary, but pulled his scull-cap off.

"But he can hardly understand normal English," Sasuke interjected with a smirk. She pointedly ignored him and turned to get more books.

"You say something, asshole?!" The blonde jumped out of his seat. Sakura yanked him back down before the teacher noticed.

"Naruto," someone whispered. He jumped and whipped his head around to see a girl sitting behind him. Her dark hair fell in her eyes and an oversized sweatshirt completely hid her form.

"What?" he asked, craning his neck to hear her better.

"I…I could…" He nodded encouragingly. "W-would you um, like m-me to help?" She blushed deeply, but looked relieved that she'd finally finished speaking.

"With translating?" His face lit up. "Yeah! That'd be great!"

She smiled softly.

"But, ah, who are you?"

The girl looked fairly crushed but answered quietly, "Hinata."

"Are you new?"

Sakura, who couldn't help but overhear (as she was sitting next to them), palmed her forehead in exasperation.

"N-no. We…we've been in the same school s-since kindergarten." She rested her chin on the desk dejectedly. Naruto thankfully noticed her depression and tried to make up for his memory lapse.

"God, I'm sorry! I'm such an ass! Shut up!" He held up a hand to Sasuke, who was about to add to the statement. The dark-haired boy shut his mouth and scowled. "…Would you…still help me, though?" He looked at her hopefully. He resembled a blonde puppy, his eyes even bigger and bluer since he was looking so remorseful.

Hinata melted and nodded vehemently. "Of course!"

"Hyuuga, Uzumaki!"

Their heads snapped up guiltily.

"Do you have something to share?"

Hinata sank low in her seat and attempted to get the collar of her sweatshirt above her cheeks, which were flaming red by now. Naruto said nothing for once, just stared at his knees.

"As I was saying. Next class I want to know your opinions on the characters, based on what you read in these scenes." She wrote the page numbers on the board and turned to face them again. "You may start reading now, and you can work amongst yourselves."

Naruto turned his desk around and grinned at Hinata, who blushed. She obviously wasn't used to attention being focused on her. Well, semi-focused. (This is Naruto we're talking about.)

"Sorry." He tilted his head at their teacher.

"But it was my fault," Hinata protested, looking very distressed by the fact.

Naruto waved it away. "Meh, don't worry about it. Sakura! Come work with us!"

The pink-haired girl glanced longingly at Sasuke, who was apparently working alone (shocker XP), but nodded after a moment. She turned her desk to face theirs and smiled.

-

"Hey, Neji," Tenten said without thinking.

The boy looked at her warily. "Yeah?"

"D'you want to work with us?" she asked, feeling incredibly stupid and awkward. Luckily she didn't blush easily like that poor Hinata girl. Ino did nothing to help these feelings when she gave her a "What the hell are you thinking?!" look.

He still looked at her warily, as if she were going to jump him in the middle of class. "…Sure," he finally said and moved to sit with them.

She took a stab at conversation. "You're in my gym class, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is the teacher always like that?"

"Unfortunately yes. He's insane, and so immature. I had him last year."

"Fantastic. But we don't really have to run as much as he says, right?"

"No. If we don't want to run, we had to beat him in some kind of "challenge"."

"What do you have to do?"

"You can decide, and our Science teacher told me he always loses at rock paper scissors."

Her lips twitched.

He shrugged. "It worked anyway. So I just used the weight room all year instead."

Ino opened her book and started reading. She would fill her friend in later. But right now she was actually getting along with Neji Hyuuga, something she'd thought was impossible to do until now.

Tenten sighed in relief. "That's good."

"You can lift weights?" Neji looked at her more closely, now noticing how athletic she looked. Tenten was at a loss. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or annoyed.

"Yeah."

He sensed the tension in her voice and backpedaled. "Most girls here aren't really physical. They're more the starvation-diet type." Why did he care? This had to be the longest voluntary conversation he'd had in…a while.

Her only answer was "Psh", which he decided was a good thing. They sat in comfortable silence for a while until they remembered they were supposed to be working.

-

"Okay, I don't get this at all."

Sakura groaned while Hinata just smiled indulgently. "It shouldn't be this hard, Naruto."

"T-Titania and Oberon m-meet by accident and start arguing," Hinata explained.

"But what about? They're just talking about rivers and shit!"

She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks again and giggled nervously.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm not about to spell it out for you!" she hissed in exasperation.

Shikamaru sighed and leaned his chair back so he was next to Naruto. "They're fighting because Titania won't have sex with him anymore. And Oberon's mad because she's a slut, but not with him."

"Where does it say that?!"

He smirked. "It's all in there, just in Old English." The smirk was jolted off his face when Ino kicked his chair. He toppled over backwards and swore when he hit the ground.

"Titania's not the slut, Oberon is! Look at how long Titania's lines are when she tells him what he did wrong."

Shikamaru rubbed his head irritably. "Her lines are only longer because she's a woman and can't stop bitching."

Choji laughed quietly to himself as he watched his old friends fight. In a sick sort of way he really had missed this.

The bell rang suddenly, startling everyone except Sasuke. He'd packed up his things a few minutes ago so he could slip out before everyone else.

Ino stood up and shouldered her messenger bag. "Tenten, come to CanTeen with us," she said with a bright smile. (1)

"Eh?"

"It's this after-school thing. Come on, or we'll miss the bus!"

Tenten nodded and let herself be dragged away. "I'll see you later," she called over her shoulder. Neji raised a hand in acknowledgement.

Once they were down the hall and had met up with Hinata and Sakura, Ino squealed. "Please tell me you think _he's_ cute?"

"He is cool. And kinda funny."

Their jaws dropped. "He's funny?" Sakura asked, not sure if she heard right.

"In an odd sort of way, yeah. Haven't you guys talked to him before?"

They stopped at Hinata's and Sakura's lockers, which were next to each other. Ino shook her head for all of them. "No, he doesn't talk to anybody!"

"He must think you're special," Hinata said with a shy smile.

The girls finished putting their things away and Tenten went downstairs to her locker. "Let's just meet out front!" Ino yelled, running for hers down the hall.

-

"How did you get here before me?" The long-haired blonde jumped when she saw Shikamaru at his locker. "You were like the last person to leave."

He shrugged but didn't pull his head out.

"How was your summer, Ino?" Choji asked, grasping for any sort of friendly exchange.

"It was great! I went to camp." She grinned at him and glanced at the guy who currently had his head in his locker. The smile faded a bit and her expressive eyes took on a desperate glint. Her throat constricted and closed off on the words she couldn't say.

I missed you guys.

She settled. Her eyes flickered back to normal and she tossed her hair, confidence regained. "You going to CanTeen, Pineapple-head?"

He sighed and grabbed his backpack. "Nn-hn."

"Well come on then!" Ino grabbed their hands and started walking. "I'm not going to be late because of you two," she said sternly. Choji just smiled. She was bossy, loud and overbearing, but it was just her way of saying she cared about them still.

* * *

I spose I'll end it there. The next chapter will put more about the afternoon; It'll probably take FOREVER for me to update after that, because I haven't really planned any further ahead than that, so my apologies in advance. Forgive me if I favor ShikaIno at first! They're my favorite pairing and I just do it unconsciously. Plus they have more chances to be dynamic. Everyone else's is kind of slow going if I want to do them right. Especially the SasuSaku, but I promise I'll do it in good time. 

(1) Since most people won't know what it is, CanTeen is a teen center where I live. It's this big house with foosball, TV, air hockey, a pool table, etc. (and by etc. I mean a lot out back where people smoke and have sex and just generally make bad decisions, and trees to climb and glomp people from above. They never see it coming. xD) There's also a kitchen where you can make popcorn and ramen (yes ramen! I don't even have to write it in! J ). Buses take you from school to there, and they can give you a ride home on another one. Sometimes a lot of really weird kids go there, but I'm making it a place where everyone just goes after school.


	3. 1st Day: Part II

I got reviews.

Yays!

Ah, school. I'd almost forgotten how it rapes your sleeping pattern and makes you tired all the time. On the upside I have more weird situations happenning that I can put in here later on.

...Enjoy!

* * *

"Sheesh, Ino, way to cut it close!" Sakura said. The bus took off with a jolt and she fell. When she got her balance, she pointed to the backseat across the aisle from her. 

"It wasn't my fault! Lazy asses wouldn't move." Ino tilted her head and took her place next to Hinata. Aforementioned lazy asses sat in the seat in front of her.

"It really doesn't ever bother you that we can hear you, does it?" Shikamaru asked dryly. She ignored him and started chatting it up with Hinata, which really was more of a one-sided conversation. But Hinata didn't mind. She never did.

The buses pulled up to a big ranch-style house with a long, gravel driveway. They filed out and everyone ran inside. Tenten walked in carefully, observing her surroundings.

The walls were covered in hand-drawn murals and paint splats. Kids from she didn't know how long ago had written (and painted) song lyrics high on the wall so the tops of the letters reached the ceiling. There was a corner of the room where everyone had thrown their backpacks and jackets and made a mountain. A soda machine was by the door. A giant flat-screen TV was on one wall, surrounded by comfy-looking, mismatched armchairs and couches. She peered down the hall and saw a room with a pool table, air hockey, and what sounded like a pinball machine. She caught Shino slipping down that hall by himself.

What she was most amazed to see, though, was Neji.

"He comes here too?" she asked Sakura.

"Of course. Everybody comes here. Even Sasuke." Her eyes landed on the moody boy just then, who seemed in deep thought.

"I call the microwave!" Naruto shouted. He took the skateboard he carried over his shoulder and tossed it onto one of the huge couches, then ran for the kitchen space across from the television.

"Naruto, you can't just throw skateboards around!" A tall man with a ponytail walked up to him, rubbing his temples exhaustedly.

"Sorry Iruka!"

"Too slow!" A brown-haired boy ran past him, a little white mutt at his heels. He grabbed a bag of popcorn and threw it in the microwave before Naruto could react.

"_Kiba_! I wanted to make ramen!" he whined, stomping his foot down. The dog barked.

"You can in a minute." Kiba picked up the dog and scratched its head affectionately. "Akamaru's hungry."

"…And you're giving him popcorn."

He put him down and crossed his arms. "What's your point?"

"Can't he cho…Never mind."

"Akamaru! Stop bothering Hinata!" The puppy had wandered over to Hinata and started barking viciously. The girl looked like she was about to faint.

"I-it's alright, Kiba." She held out a shaking hand and Akamaru shoved his nose in it, obviously wanting to be petted. "Good boy," she whispered softly. He jumped in her lap and curled up adorably. A chorus of "awww"s came from all the girls in the immediate area, and they rushed over to play with him.

"This is why I got a dog," Kiba grinned and walked over to share the attention. Naruto opened the door to the microwave quietly and took out the half-popped popcorn bag, replacing it with his ramen cup.

"I call the TV!" Sakura jumped over the couch in the middle of the room and stood in front of it, hands on her hips. The boys swore loudly; they knew that the girls would use it to watch chick-flicks the whole afternoon. They groaned and resigned themselves to playing darts and eating.

-

The movie they were watching was cute.

…For about ten minutes.

Tenten sighed and got up to find something else to do. She'd never liked romance movies anyway.

The dart game looked like fun, until she saw what kind of players the boys were. Naruto got up and just chucked it randomly. As long as it was the same wall the dartboard was on, he considered it a success. Kiba was the same way. Neji watched haughtily from a straight-backed dining chair off to the side, but hadn't yet taken a shot. He didn't look like he was going to, either. The other boy from her gym class, with the bowl-cut, was pretty good, but her fingers itched with longing. It felt like forever since she'd thrown something sharp.

"You guys suck," she informed them bluntly.

Kiba snorted. "Like you can do better? Go back and watch your movie."

"Gimme." Tenten held out a hand and Bowl-cut handed one to her. She drew back, aimed, and threw it hard. After a second she nodded in satisfaction.

Bullseye.

"Do it again!" Kiba tossed another dart at her. They repeated the process about five times until she got tired of it. He shrugged and walked off. "I'm gonna play pinball."

Naruto clapped her on the back. "Where'd you learn to do that?!"

"My friends taught me back home." She shrugged it off and smiled. "Is there anything to eat besides ramen and popcorn?"

"There's mac & cheese," Naruto offered.

"Good, I'm starving. And I doubt I'll be having dinner." Tenten went over to the kitchen and busied herself in making the cheap pasta.

"That was impressive."

She turned her head to see Neji sitting on the counter beside her. She could sort of sense this was a big deal, by the way the girls talked about him.

**So glad to have your approval.**

A smirk found its way to her face. "Thanks." The water for the macaroni boiled over and she panicked. She grabbed the handle of the pot and felt her palm burning. "Shit!"

Neji turned the dial down on the stove, grabbed her wrist and thrust it under the faucet of cold water. "Be more careful," he said quietly. Tenten winced and nodded. A red mark was already forming across the heel of her hand.

"Are you alright?" Bowl-cut Boy came over and looked at her with concern. Tenten flashed him a smile.

"Yeah. I'm-"

"Tenten? I saw you today and asked around. My name is Lee."

She reached around Neji's shoulder to shake his hand. "Cool. You're really fast."

He beamed. "Thank you! I run track." There was a second when she rested her arm around him, but she drew it back just as quickly.

"So where exactly did you come from?" Lee asked and stood to her right.

"Eh…I don't really remember. I move around a lot. Some city." She turned the stove back on and stirred anxiously.

"Did you like it there?"

She shrugged. "Not really. I mean, the longest I've stayed in one place is when I was born 'til I was ten. I've been to…nine different cities since then."

They stared at her. "I went back a couple times though. Saw old friends." Tenten took the pot off the stove and got a bowl full. "This place seems nicer than other places though."

"Does your father work for the military?"

She laughed. "Nah. I don't have a father."

Lee glanced at her uncomfortably. She ignored this pointedly. She didn't want pity. "You know…" Tenten chewed thoughtfully. "I might get to like it here." She grinned at the both of them.

* * *

Eheh. I wasn't sure how to end it, so I just sliced it where it was comfortable. And since I forgot to mention it last time, I don't own Midsummer Night's Dream, which I will come back to for fun whenever they have English. 


	4. Minor Adjustments

Wowz. About a month, eh? It's been a bit hectic at home.

But! I'm throwing this out there. I'm sorry if it seems rushed or forced or just too short and icky; I promised myself I would put it up TONIGHT., and damnit, I have.

Big thank you to FUN FUN FUN IN THE SUN for the wake-up call. I needed it, as I was floating aimlessly in depression. And most importantly, thank you to the people who reviewed and favorited and put on alert! I honestly never expected it to go in anyone's favorites. :)

This Disclaimer is funded by Fanfiction(dot)net. And Readers Like You! (because no one else will)

ahem.

I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**-1st Period (Earth Science)-**

"Today we're doing a lab," their teacher informed them when he got through the door. Sakura clicked her tongue disapprovingly and glanced at the clock.

7:50 a.m.

**Twenty minutes?! It's only the second day! He'd better not make a habit of this.**

"Pick a partner and get a sheet off the table. All your supplies are there." He leaned back in his chair and picked up his book. Mr. Hatake liked labs. They required almost no supervision.

"Sasuke-"

"No."

Ino pouted for a moment, then turned back to Tenten with a bright smile. "Your turn," she told Sakura. She took Tenten by the wrist and went to get their work.

"Um…"

He groaned in irritation. "What?"

"…" Sakura froze. "…Y'know what, never mind." She scurried to join Ino and Tenten. "I couldn't do it; he hates me!"

"You just have to act like you don't care either," Tenten assured her. "Don't pay any attention to what he's doing, and even if he pays attention to you, accept it but don't jump all over him. Got it?"

She nodded, her jade eyes big and perceptive, as if she would learn more by also seeing everything Tenten did. "Okay."

"What?" The odango-bunned girl glanced at her scowling partner.

"How come you never gave _me_ advice like that?"

"I was saving it for someone who _seriously_ likes him." They stuck their tongues out at each other, then got to work.

-

Sakura grabbed one of the last empty counter spaces; it was far away from Sasuke since every girl was fighting just for a spot close enough to touch him. She set up her station and got to work, glancing back every now and then. At least until Tenten shot her a stern glare.

**She told you not to look! **

_I know, but he's so…!_

**Get a grip, loser. You can't fawn all over him. You know he hates that. Just look at them. **

Sakura looked for the last time, only to see girls elbowing and pulling hair so they could get a glimpse of him.

**Pathetic.**

_I'm not like them._

Sasuke finally had enough and took his things across the classroom.

**Oh**

_My_

**God!**

_He's right next to me!_

**Wait! We're **_**not**_** freaking him out today.**

She closed her eyes and nodded, then started on the lab.

On a particularly complicated question, Sakura found her eyes wandering as she lost herself in thought. What she also found was that a certain pair of black eyes was looking at her paper.

"Hey."

He looked up and an involuntary blush found its way up his face.

"If you want help, you could just ask." She tried to keep the teasing note out of her voice.

Sasuke glared at her all the same. "Who says I need it?"

"Fine." Sakura smiled and turned so her back blocked his view of the paper. Tenten and Ino watched from the side, trying not to laugh. He scowled, seeming to be stuck between stubbornness and the fact that he really did need help.

Finally he sighed. "Sakura…"

"Mm?"

"What did you get for the fifth question?"

**-Math-**

"He knows my name!" She skipped happily down the hall and Ino followed dubiously.

"Just you watch, she'll be talking about this _all day_," she groaned, then punched Tenten lightly on the shoulder. "Way to go."

"It's cute."

Sakura slowed to match pace with her dark-haired friend. "I didn't even think he knew who I was!" she said with a grin.

"You are kinda hard to miss."

She tugged on her hair self-consciously. "True."

"Well I gotta go. Math."

"Bye!"

Tenten waved over her shoulder and took the stairs two at a time. She wandered down the hall a little, but found the class fairly easily.

The room finally appeared and she stepped cautiously inside.

The Hyuuga cousins sat in the second row from the back, one empty seat between them. As a buffer, maybe? Maybe Hinata wanted to give him space. He didn't seem to like company.

Oh well.

"Hey." She smiled brightly and took the seat between them. Hinata smiled back and played with her fingers absently. She looked to her left.

"Morning Sunshine."

Neji raised an eyebrow at her. "Hello Tenten."

She straightened and nodded politely, a smirk creeping at the edges of her mouth.

Their teacher came in, looking extremely serious. He towered over them, and the scar running across his face made him look even more severe. He reminded Tenten of that teacher from Speak, only not an asshole. But he probably was some type of coach after school. Football, or maybe basketball.

He got into expectations for the year, making her a little hazy, then handed out a packet for them to do. Tenten didn't particularly like math. The numbers just sort of swam in front of her eyes and she wrote down whatever looked plausible. She doodled idly in the margins of the sheet, glancing around every once in a while.

The bell rang and she jumped.

"Are you coming?"

Neji stood waiting at the door. He stared boredly at her, like this so wasn't worth being late for lunch. Hinata hugged her notebook to her chest and smiled encouragingly.

"Sorry! Kinda spacey today." Tenten crossed her eyes and grabbed her things.

**-Lunch-**

"I-I'll see you," Hinata murmured when they got to the cafeteria.

"Why? Sit with me!"

"No, it's oka-"

"Oh come on, please?"

Tenten pouted and she folded. "Okay." She was steered toward the table and sat down between Tenten and Sakura.

"Hi!" The pink-haired girl hugged her and turned back to her conversation with Ino. Naruto tore his gaze away from Sakura long enough to realize they had two additions to the table.

"Hey Hinata!" He grinned at her and her face flared red. She spluttered out a few gasp-like noises, but otherwise made no response. "You okay?" He tilted his head slightly.

"She's fine," Tenten said with a giggle.

"Well, I was wondering…" He scratched his head awkwardly, "Are you any good at Math? I mean, I'm already getting help with English, so maybe…?" That hopeful look was back in his eyes.

Hinata nodded and gulped her vitamin water.

"Cool! We should do it today at CanTeen."

She nodded again, not trusting her speech skills right now.

"Thanks Hinata, you're the best!"

Tenten had to keep from grinning herself. The way Hinata's face just lit up was just perfect.

**My new mission in life is to set them up.**

"Tenten!"

She looked up. "Huh?"

"Hello, conversation."

"Sorry, I missed it."

"Are you going to homecoming?"

She shrugged. "Probably not. Are you going to be cheerleading or something?"

Sakura laughed. "Ino's too aggressive to be a cheerleader."

"And you're too klutzy," she retorted. "I don't know. Everyone seems to be talking about it and I don't want to miss anything!"

"Trust me, you won't; it's football."

"Then can we all do something? I'll be so borrrrrred," Ino whined. Suddenly she perked up. "We should have a sleepover!" Ino gasped at her own idea and the others grinned. "This'll be so great," she said excitedly. "Hinata?"

The dark-haired girl looked up. "Yes?"

"I know this is totally rude, but do you think we could _possibly_…have the sleepover at your house? I mean, it is the biggest, and that means more space for us and no one will notice if we make noise." She made an adorably pitiful face.

**She's just a sucker for blue eyes, eh?**

Hinata chewed her lip for a moment. This would mean talking to the head of the house…But how could she disappoint her friends? Her only friends? "…Sure. I'll have t-to ask m-my dad of course…" Her fears at the thought of asking her father for anything were quickly drowned out by squeals of delight.

"Hinata, you're the best!" Sakura hugged her tightly and hopped up and down.

Tenten grinned. "This is so cool. I can't wait!"

**-Global History-**

"I heard this guy's cool," Ino whispered to Tenten as they sat down. She glanced at him sitting in his chair, hands behind his head. Once the bell rang, he stood up.

"Alright. I'm not going to go through an hour lecture telling you the rules. You've heard it enough times to know. Do the homework, show up on time, don't talk when I'm talking. Okay?"

They nodded.

"Okay. We have…an hour and twenty minutes. We could start working…or you could talk until the bell rings, since technically we don't have to do anything til Monday."

He was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Shikamaru and Choji filed in. Choji at least looked guilty; Shika just shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ceiling.

"Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara?"

"Sorry," he said.

"For what?"

The teacher smriked and Shika smiled lazily.

"Won't happen again though, right?"

"Right."

"Take a seat where you can find it."

The two boys looked around and Shikamaru groaned. "…Oh shit." The last two desks were off to the far side. Right next to Ino.

"No," she said flatly, folding her arms. "Just no."

"Come on, Ino. There's nowhere else," Choji pleaded, as if she actually had the power to kick them out.

Her face softened slightly. Then she sighed. "Fine."

"Oh! I almost forgot. These will be your seats for the rest of the year."

"You…suck," she said, her blue eye twitching.

* * *

So I realize I've completely screwed with the school system, giving them three classes a day. But that's my unchecked power as author. 

Mwahaha.

Hopefully the crazy shit will stop stirring and I'll have time to curl up with my laptop and write, but my parents will eventually notice and say I'm being antisocial.

So wish me luck! When I'm not writing this, I'll let you know it's because I have another story in the works. Shh, it's not off the ground yet.


	5. Sleepover!

Heyyy! I'm half-way through the next chapter, and there's the long weekend coming up for Columbus Day, so I'll have more time. (I also have Tuesday off for some teacher-related thing so...yay!)

* * *

**-Time Skip! (Homecoming Weekend, 9:00 p.m.)-**

"Hey Tenten!" Sakura and Ino pulled the girl through the doors of the Hyuuga estate. Both girls were already in their pajamas; Ino in a white cami and purple shorts, Sakura in a very long, oversized red T-shirt. It reached well below her knees, but Tenten could tell it wasn't meant to be a nightgown. Nevertheless, the she looked innocent.

"Did you walk here?" Ino scanned her clothes and shoes.

"No," she lied. "Where's Hinata?"

"Oh, downstairs. She should be up in a sec. Isn't this place huge?"

It really was. Twin staircases led up to the second floor, which had a loft sort of view of the foyer they stood in now, like in a mall. To her right she saw what must have been the kitchen. Hinata padded through it, wearing blue silk PJs. White fluffy sheep hopped across them or slept peacefully on their grass patches.

"You guys look so cute."

"Thanks! Do you want to change?"

"Sure."

"The b-bathroom's over there." Hinata pointed up the stairs and smiled.

"We'll be in the basement!" Ino called over her shoulder.

Tenten nodded and realized too late that she had no idea where the basement was. She shrugged and climbed the stairs.

The bathroom was just as extravagant as the rest of the house. Everything was impeccably clean and white. It almost hurt her eyes to look at the tub tiles. She changed quickly into her green pajama pants and struggled with her cami. The little pink top was getting small on her, especially since she had recently filled out more. She glared at herself in the mirror.

Oh well.

She opened the door, started down the hall and looked back at her duffel bag to check that nothing was hanging out-

Only to run into something.

Tenten raised her eyes hesitantly and jumped.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. A man towered over her. The lines on his face made him look severe and cold, and his eyes and hair made him look like an exact older version of Neji.

"Not a problem," he said stiffly. "I assume you're one of Hinata's friends?"

"Y-yes." So that was why Hinata had speech problems! It was taking all her effort not to slink away like a beaten puppy, let alone make eye contact. "I'm Tenten."

"Tenten, I am Hiashi Hyuuga."

"Nice to meet you." She braved a smile and shook his hand firmly. "Um, where's the basement?"

"Go through the kitchen and down the stairs to your right."

"Right, thanks." She hurried off meekly down the stairs. Before going through the kitchen's swinging door, she glanced back at the steep banister.

**I will ride it. Ohyes, I will ride it!** (1)

-

"Glad you made it," Ino teased.

"I met your dad," Tenten told Hinata.

"Really?" She looked at her worriedly. "How did it g-go?"

"I can see where Neji gets his peppy disposition from," she said dryly. "Are all the adults in your family like him?"

"M-most of them."

"I have to see your family's Christmas party."

"You have a bar down here?" Sakura asked from a far corner of the giant basement.

"Mm-hm. It's just sodas."

They all claimed a few snacks and sat, munching contentedly.

"Should we…play a game or something?" Tenten scratched her arm awkwardly.

"L-like what?"

"Let's just talk." Ino shrugged and crossed her legs. The rest nodded in agreement and sat in a circle. "Just remember, this stays in the basement."

"I've got one." Sakura leaned forward, a mischievous glint in her green eyes. "Hinata. How are things going with your "Math tutoring"?"

She blushed deeply and hid her face. "With N-naruto?"

"Uh-huh."

"Fine!" she yelped.

Tenten bit back a laugh. She got flustered so easily. "So, how long have you liked him?"

"What?!"

"It's okay!" Ino patted her on the back, but made a face. "I think the more important question is _why_ do you like him?"

"H-he's funny a-and kind and alw-ways t-tries to make other p-people happy. Even m-me." Her face turned an even darker shade of red, if that was even possible. "I've l-liked him since I f-first met him."

"Didn't you meet him in kindergarten?" Tenten asked, remembering what she'd said in English. She nodded furiously.

"Oh!" they chorused. "That's so sweet!"

…**And a little creepy.**

"We have to set the both of you up. I'll think of a plan," Ino said with determination.

"But Tenten." She smirked and set her teal eyes on Tenten's chocolate ones.

Gulp.

"Do you have a thing for anyone?"

Oh. So she was going to dance around? Tenten wasn't about to let Ino get a rise out of her.

She shrugged. "Not really. Why?"

"You just seem really _close_ with the guys in our class. Like, Lee. And Neji."

"We're friends."

Ino sighed in annoyance. "Oh please. You're the only girl he really talks to, you might be the only person period! And you're telling me neither of you have any kind of interest in each other?"

"None at all."

"Liar."

"Am not."

"Admit it."

"What?"

"You think he's cute."

"Of course he's cute! But he's also my friend. And I think that's closer than I'd ever get to him by being his girlfriend. He talks to me. He actually laughs with me sometimes. And call me crazy, but I don't think he'd be the most attentive boyfriend in the world. So it's better like this. I like him, he likes me, and we both know where to draw the line."

"Psh. You're so boring," Ino teased.

"Well what about you and Shikamaru?"

"Nothing!" she insisted and messed with the bun atop her head. "He's just my dad's-"

"-best friend's son, we know. Nobody's buying that." The two best friends faced off. Sakura won.

"Okay! Y'know those in-between years with us? When you were being a bitch all through middle school?"

"Yeah." The pink-haired girl fidgeted guiltily.

"Well I felt totally alone." She hugged her knees and rested her chin on them. "And the part about me and Choji and Shikamaru hanging out as kids is true. We just got closer. Like really close. And it was great, since our dads were friends, and we were friends, so our families did stuff together all the time. Until this summer." Her face twisted slightly, but returned to normal after a second.

"This…girl and her brothers were here. For vacation or something. She was actually pretty nice, but she was way older than we were; like seventeen. And she only liked hanging out with Shika." She paused. "…It was like I was losing you again," she said in a trembling voice. "So I freaked. And we had this huge fight and I left without saying goodbye and everything sucks and it's like I'm nine years old again!" A sob escaped her and she hid her face.

They sat in shocked silence for awhile to let Ino compose herself.

She wiped her eyes roughly and Hinata gave her a tissue.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "So." She tossed her hair and smiled brightly, as if it would erase what just happened. "What kind of movies do you have?"

-

They ended up watching The Shining. Ino had pawed through the stacks of VHS tapes and held it up triumphantly.

"This'll be great!" she'd exclaimed. Hinata and Sakura looked hesitant, but Tenten was all for it. She loved being scared. Hinata didn't want to disappoint anyone, so she agreed. Sakura did so too, though reluctantly. If it would make Ino feel better…

Tenten loved being scared, all right.

Just not when she was the last one asleep.

She rolled over restlessly and shut her eyes. Behind her eyelids she saw those creepy little twin girls.

_Come play with us._

"Stop it," she mumbled to herself and sat up. She just couldn't shake that feeling. That creepy, awful, paranoid feeling at the base of her neck.

And now she had to pee. Perfect timing.

Tenten stumbled up the stairs and through the kitchen, back into the main entrance room. The staircase didn't look half as friendly as before. Now it was eerie and it creaked quite a bit as she ascended.

_Redrum,_ she thought to herself and giggled nervously. She reached the door and locked it, but didn't turn on the light. It was as if she were testing herself.

**You don't need the light because you know nothing's there. Right?**

After she washed her hands she turned to the door, and hesitated.

**This is stupid. There is no one at the door.**

Of course there was no one at the door. She'd prove it.

But it would've been easier to prove if there was no shadowy figure looming in front of her.

She opened her mouth to scream but a hand muffled it before much got out. Without thinking she licked the hand and it drew back immediately.

"Gross!"

"Neji?" Tenten jumped when she saw him. He only wore a pair of boxers, and his top half was completely naked. She did her best not to stare.

**Mmmmm-**

"Tenten?"

Her cheeks burned in mortification. She had just licked her friend's hand because she thought he was a ghost.

**You are such a loser.**

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His eyes seemed to glow almost in the faint light coming from the bathroom window.

"Uh, using the bathroom?" she said dumbly.

"I mean here, in my house."

"Oh! I'm sleeping over, with Hinata and Sakura and Ino."

"Oh."

"Sorry about your hand. We were watching something scary, I'm the last one awake…I kinda panicked."

"I figured. Sorry for, ah, lurking."

"It's fine."

His eyes wandered down, resting on her hip. "Wh-?"

She tugged her shirt down and his eyes flicked back to hers. "See you in the morning, I guess?"

"Sure." He straightened and nodded. She smiled and walked past him down the stairs. "Tenten."

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

* * *

(1) lol, just a reference to the show 6Teen. Only it involved a zamboni instead of a staircase. …XD 

Next one will be out soon! Bye :)


	6. Saturday

Another update. Shwa! Thanks to reviewers for last chapter!

* * *

"Tenten."

"Mmm."

Sakura giggled and shook her gently. "_Tenten_."

"What?" She jumped and sat up. "What time is it?!"

"Relax, it's 10:30. We're all having breakfast. Well, not Ino. She has to work in her mom's store, so they picked her up."

"Oh! Hold on a minute." Tenten grabbed her overnight bag and changed behind the bar. Ripped jeans and an aqua thermal T-shirt with cute, chubby pandas on it. Now that she thought of it, this didn't seem to be a very presentable outfit, but hopefully they wouldn't be having breakfast with Hinata's dad.

-

But of course they were!

Tenten tugged on her shirt nervously, trying to ignore how trashy she felt. Everyone else had pretty, conservative outfits. Her knees looked terrible; they were pale and scraped. She constantly found herself looking like a mutt in front of important people.

Oh well.

She strolled into the dining area as if she'd lived there her whole life. "Morning!" She smiled brightly and sat between Hinata and Sakura, then waved to Neji across the table. His mouth twitched, but he didn't dare smile in front of his uncle. There was another little girl sitting at one end of the table with long, brown hair like Neji's. She was still in her nightgown and had a slight bedhead, but somehow looked far more serious than a ten-year-old should. Tenten shrugged, grabbed a bagel and slathered it with cream cheese.

The girls smiled almost indulgently at her and continued eating. They felt a bit guilty for not warning her how weird the Hyuugas were, but she seemed to be completely comfortable with them.

Sakura's cell phone rang in the middle of breakfast. She blushed and apologized, then answered it. "Mom? I thought Dad was picking me up. …Oh. Okay. Bye." She hung up the phone and sighed. "Thank you Mr. Hyuuga. I'll see you guys later. Um, bye Neji."

He didn't acknowledge her with more than a nod as she walked out the door.

Leaving Tenten all alone with the white-eyed family.

She finished quickly and stood. "Well, thank you for having me," she said politely. "I'm gonna go."

"Do you have a ride?"

Tenten looked up in surprise at Hiashi, then half-smiled. "Nah, I'll walk."

"B-but-" Hinata protested, "y-you live two m-miles away."

"It's no big deal, really." She rubbed her arm awkwardly. "I do it all the time."

"Tenten." Neji pushed in his chair and eyed her severely. "You shouldn't go alone. If you don't want a ride, we'll walk with you."

They stared each other down.

"Fine, but only half-way. There's a park in between; you can stop there."

The little girl perked up. "Can I come too?"

"Sure! More the merrier, right?"

She beamed and ran upstairs to change.

Tenten glanced back at Hinata. "What's her name?"

"Hanabi."

"She's cute."

"She's annoying," Neji mumbled.

Hanabi raced back downstairs in record time. She pulled on her shoes as she went, something Tenten knew from experience was extremely difficult.

"Well, come on!" She grinned and Hanabi took hold of her hand. Tenten's eyes widened.

**She likes me?**

A fuzzy, smiley feeling went through her as the energetic ten-year-old dragged her along down the side of the road.

Eventually she got tired and demanded Neji carry her, and, to Tenten's surprise, he obliged. She jumped on his back and hugged his neck tight. He didn't even seem to mind that much.

They soon came to the park entrance. Tenten felt a small aching inside her when she realized she'd be alone for the rest of the weekend.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." She turned to leave.

"Don't leave yet!" Hanabi cried. "You have to stay!" She led Tenten to the swings and sat, waiting expectantly. "Swing with me."

Neji and Hinata also sat, leaving a place between them for her. Inside Tenten grinned inwardly. She belonged.

"Okay."

-

Sakura looked out the window, moping.

"Aw, don't be like that! We'll have fun today too." Her mother's boyfriend smiled at her. She forced a smile back.

"Sakura." Her mother didn't take her eyes off the road. "Your dad said he'd make it up to you next weekend."

**Like he did last weekend? Asshole.**

"Okay. I have to babysit around here tomorrow anyway; so actually it's much more convenient."

"Well good! I'm glad this worked out after all."

**I hate you.**

"Yeah."

-

"I'm sorry I interrupted your sleepover, hon, but we're just so shorthanded!"

"It's fine, Mom." Ino texted Sakura in the backseat of her mother's SUV and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Ooh I can't believe him!"

"What?"

"Nothing. Her dad ditched her again."

"If he keeps doing that, Sakura is going to have some serious issues."

**Too late.**

They reached the store (finally) and hopped out.

"Oh no," she groaned. She knew that car in the parking lot.

-

"Which flowers does she like again?"

"You should know! For Christ's sake, Dad."

Ino's mom passed Shikamaru and Shikato with a small giggle. The girl at the counter looked at Ino helplessly. She let them squabble a minute longer before saying,

"Lilies. She likes lilies, like me. Yoshino's birthday, right?"

Shikato nodded.

"Well at least you remembered that much."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" the other girl said. "Getting flowers for your wife. I wish my boyfriend-"

"These are for my bitch."

"Dad! Knock it off!"

Her face froze. "Um…okay." She handed him the bag and took off her apron. "Seeya later Ino!"

Ino burst out laughing. "I'm going to tell her you said that."

"I can't help it. Your mom hires the most gullible people."

She smirked and Shikamaru looked around sourly. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah sure. C'mon."

"Bye!" She waved and turned to the counter. "Weird."

* * *

I don't know if I'm very satisfied with this chapter. But I have to go do stuff today, so leave me stuff to come back to, okay?

Reviews make a happy KT :)


	7. To Have A Party

I would have updated sooner. But I went on a weekend retreat with my Youth Group (loved it) and no electronics are allowed. Not that I would've had time to write anyway. Soo here you go.

**

* * *

**

**-1****st**** Period (Earth Science)-**

Over the first few weeks, lab experiences had repeated themselves over, and over, and over again, leaving Sasuke with no choice but to take refuge with Sakura at the other end of the classroom.

She glanced over at him as he worked, checking his answers with hers every so often.

"Sasuke?"

He looked up. "What?"

"Why…why do you work with me?"

**He doesn't like you.**

Maybe he does!

But most likely he doesn't- 

Shut up, I'll miss what he's saying!

You shut up- 

Tch!

STOP INTERRUPTING M- 

"Well, the only girl who isn't crazy in this class is paired with the craziest one." He flicked his head toward Tenten and Ino, which made his bangs fall slightly over his coal-black eyes. "And…you're not so bad, I guess."

…_Thank you?_

She felt a blush coming on, so she turned away. "Oh. Okay."

Chyeah! Suck it, Ino-pig! 

**-2****nd**** Period (Gym)-**

"Neji! I would like to fight you!"

He sighed and put down the weights. "Lee…"

"I am sure I will beat you this time! Please?"

He sighed again. "Fine." Tenten smiled and sat on one of the workout machines. Rock-paper-scissors had worked like a charm, so she was free to lift weights or lay in the grass of the football field (allowing that the activity of the day wasn't football. Watching out for being trampled wasn't the kind of physical activity she enjoyed).

And so they started. Apparently the both of them had taken martial arts as kids. Neji excelled all the way through and had finished early, leaving Lee behind. But he still trained religiously to this day, and challenged Neji whenever the opportunity arose.

Lee fell flat on the floor, then struggled sit up. "You win." He lowered his head in defeat. "I PROMISE TO TRAIN HARDER SO ONE DAY I CAN BEAT YOU!"

"Good luck with that." Neji yawned and went back to the weights.

Tenten hopped on a bike next to his station and started pedaling. "How come you never fight me?" she asked idly.

"You never ask. And besides, you're a girl."

She stopped dead. "What?"

**Oh no he did **_**not**_

"If Lee can't beat me, how can you?"

"You think I can't beat you because I'm a girl?"

"Yes."

"Alright, get up."

"What?"

"I said get up. We're going to fight."

"No we're not."

She glared at him. "Why not? Like you said, you can take Lee. I should be easy work for you."

Neji stood. "Have you even taken martial arts?"

"No. But I'm a decent fighter."

"You don't stand a chance if you don't know the form."

"Then humor me!"

"…Alright."

She went at him. Tenten had watched enough times to understand how Neji fought. He went for the pressure points and took you down until you could barely move. She would be careful.

She actually got in a high kick to the head, but he grabbed her foot and spun it so she would lose balance. She used her other foot to sidesweep his leg. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"You fight dirty," he coughed.

Tenten sat on his chest. "I'm a girl. We all fight dirty." She grinned and held out a hand. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone I beat you."

He didn't take it. "You didn't beat me. You cheated." In most cases, this would sound like a really stupid comeback. But when he said it, it just became the truth. He flicked her forehead and walked to the locker room with Lee, leaving her to fume.

-SKIPSKIPSKIP-

**-CanTeen-**

"Ohmygosh!" Ino tripped over the arm of a couch and flipped onto a cushion.

Sakura looked up from her book. "What?"

"Halloween's coming!"

"And you just remembered now?" Tenten snorted. "They've had the stuff up in stores since before school started."

"Yeah, but it's exciting! What are you going to be?"

The brunette shrugged. "I dunno. I never really did Halloween."

**Unless Mischief Night counts as Halloween.**

Sakura gave her a look of mock-pity. "You poor, deprived child. What about you, Hinata?"

"M-my father d-doesn't like it."

"Ugh, you guys are like aliens! Shopping?" Ino asked.

"Shopping," Sakura agreed.

-

"Ino." Tenten shoved her hands in her jeans pockets and looked at the wall of costume pictures to choose from. "I don't have any money for this."

"We're not going to buy a costume!"

"We're not?" Hinata said, confusion raising her voice an octave.

"Nah, the store outfits are slutty. We're just looking for ideas."

"Yeah. Just imagine them if the skirt was a foot longer," Sakura giggled, "And then we can buy the accessories and make the rest ourselves."

"Hey, Sakura, check this one out." Ino smirked and pointed to a Playboy Nurse picture.

"Shut up!" She scanned the wall for an even worse one to get back at her.

Hinata bit her nails.

"What's up?" Tenten asked, stepping toward her.

"…I don't know what to be."

"I've never really picked out a costume before either, but I think it's about being who you want to be. You have a…darkness, I guess. Not like evil, but like, original Gothic. Dresses and black makeup and all that." She looked up thoughtfully, then nodded to herself. "You are a vampire."

"M-me?"

"You."

She smiled shyly and tilted her head. "Hm…"

"I am _not_ a pumpkin!"

"Your face is round enough."

"Ouch." Tenten winced. "Sakura's going to get bitch-slapped pretty soon if we don't separate them."

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Hey! We're supposed to be looking for actual costume ideas, ne?"

They evil-eyed each other a moment longer, then turned to their respective ends of the store.

"Ooh." Sakura pulled a pair of blue and purple wings off the rack and smiled. "I like these."

"Have you decided anything yet?" Ino looked through the racks and glanced at Tenten.

"I think so. But can I borrow stuff from you?"

"Sure. I think I'm going to have a party."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My parents are going to Vegas for their anniversary, and they're leaving the night before Halloween. I'm supposed to be staying at Sakura's, but…nobody really ever knows which house she's staying at." She smiled devilishly.

"Sounds good to me."

"I have things to plan now!" She seemed to enjoy the idea of being busy. "Will you help me?"

"Uh, yeah. I got nothing better to do."

"Did I hear party?" Sakura leaned into the conversation and grinned.

"No. A party while my parents are away would be wrong."

"And painfully cliché," Tenten added helpfully.

"You realize the flaws in this, right?"

""It's not like I'll have it at my house. I'll have it in the garden."

"I don't like this," Sakura worried.

Hinata bit her nails again. "I-I think S-Sakura's right."

"Aw, where's your sense of fun?" Tenten poked her and spun around. "It'll be great!" She crashed into a rack of masks and hats.

Ino pulled her up. "Well come on. We need to get so much more stuff now."

* * *

I feel kinda blah about this chapter. but it's meant to be a filler chapter for a Halloween one that I should get working on! X3 

I don't know what Ino should be! I have an idea for everyone else, but I can't picture a good costume for her TT. If you have any suggestions put it in a review please! I'm stuck!


	8. Preparations

Happy Halloween as of five minutes! Woo, I need sleep!

**_audible song lyrics_** (forgot that one)

* * *

**-11:45 p.m. (Canteen)-**

"Hey, Kiba!" Ino smiled and sat across the boy's lap. "Are you coming to my Halloween party tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He glanced across the room. "Who else is going?"

"Sakura, Tenten, Hinata, Neji, Lee, probably Naruto, _maybe_ Sasuke…oh, and Shino can come too."

"Sounds cool."

"Great! Starts at eight, ends at like eleven. Costume required. And it's outside. Just to let you know."

"Sure."

"Okay." She beamed at him and paused before getting up. "Well, gotta invite more people. That's what I get for waiting til the last minute." (1)

He grinned and watched her walk away, then glanced at Akamaru. "Mm-hm."

-

"Okay, I don't get this at all." Naruto scratched his head in confusion and glanced at Hinata.

"R-read it to me," she encouraged.

He sighed. "Twice the larger of two numbers is three more than five times the smaller, and the sum of four times the larger and three times the smaller is 71. What are the numbers?" He gave her a wide-eyed, deer-in-headlights look. "Help meee," he begged, taking her hand desperately.

Before she had time to get flustered, Hinata noticed his sleeve riding up. "Naruto!" She gasped at the bruise on his arm.

"Huh? Oh this." The blonde boy shrugged. "That happens all the time when I skate. Look at this one!" He pulled up his shirt, making her blush. An old-looking scar ran up from the side of his hip to his ribs. "Oh, and this." He pointed to a scar on his jaw. "Well, actually, that's from when my step-brothers taped me to the wall while I was asleep." He grinned. "I fell off, eventually."

She looked shocked but giggled in spite of herself. "They j-just taped you to a wall?"

"Yup," he said as if this was an everyday occurrence.

"Um…" She chewed her nail like a bunny rabbit and looked away.

"What?"

Her cheeks tinted red. "Th-there's this p-party tonight…at Ino's-"

"Will Sakura be there?"

"Mm-hm. And, um-"

"I'm there!" He grinned. "Thanks for telling me, Hinata!"

"You're welcome," she murmured disappointedly.

**Maybe if I were more like Sakura…**

"But, your m-math problem?"

"Oh yeah!"

-

"Hey Lee, play me in DDR." Tenten grinned when he jumped up with enthusiasm. Neji frowned and went back to his homework. He didn't play DDR, and that was exactly why she was doing it. He knew she was mad at him. He also had thought it would be better to leave her alone, let her cool down. But she didn't just cool down. She froze.

A song that sounded like La Cucaracha with electric guitars blasted through the speakers. He sighed in frustration and closed his binder. He was having a hard time concentrating anyway.

"Neji…"

"What?" His voice had a bite to it, but Ino brushed it off.

"You're coming with Hinata tonight, right?" She sat on the table and swung her legs childishly.

"I suppose."

"Great!" She lowered her voice. "How are you going to make it up to Tenten?"

"Make what up? I don't even know why she's mad at me."

"Oh. Okay." The bubbly blonde hopped off and started toward the TV.

"You're not going to tell me?" he asked, irritated. He felt pathetic, using a busybody like Ino Yamanaka as a go-between, like those awful, melodramatic on-off couples did.

"Nope."

And she wasn't even a good go-between!

_**Love, love, la-la-la-love shi-eeen, yeah yeah yeah, yeah!**_

"Turn it down!" he shouted. And he could've sworn he heard Tenten laughing.

-

"Sasuke?"

"Hn."

Sakura pulled her hair and looked down. "I know you don't really like parties, but there's one at Ino's house tonight. Well, her backyard, but anyway, everyone's going to be there and it should be fun…" She blushed when he actually looked at her. "Just think about it, okay?"

He didn't say anything, but he wasn't saying no.

She started to back away. "Well, I have to go. My mom's picking me up…B-ah!"

Sasuke jumped and saw that she'd tripped over an armchair. He hid a smirk.

"Goodbye, Sakura."

"Um, bye."

**You freaking loser! Even if he does come he won't hang out with us!**

_Shut up._

**-3:00 p.m. (Ino's house)-**

"Hey!" Ino opened the door to see Tenten, Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi (wearing a green witch's hat) on her front steps.

"Hey." Tenten stepped inside, dragging Hanabi with her (as the little girl was hugging her waist tightly).

"How come she's here?" Ino whispered.

"Hinata has to watch her tonight."

"Oh." She leaned down to Hanabi's level. "You wanna make cookies with us?"

"Sure."

-

"Forehead! You're here!"

Sakura grinned and set her things down.

"Hi. I'm sorry I took so long, my mom was all "Where are you going, whose parents are there, aren't you too old to trick-or-treat? Nehhh"." She made a face. "So of course _he_ was the same way. I hate-! Oh, hi!" She gave Hinata and Tenten a hug once she saw them over Ino's shoulder. "What'd I miss?"

"We're making cookies."

"Cool." They went back to the kitchen and continued mixing dough.

"Do you think he'll come?" Sakura asked dreamily.

"Yeah," Ino lied. Really, what would Sasuke see in going to a party? Being annoyed by fan girls and Naruto in dim lighting and pounding music? Woo-hoo.

"Are you still mad at Neji?" Hanabi asked.

The girls looked up. They had been wondering the same thing, but they were afraid to ask. (Tenten had ranted about it, at great length, at lunch the other day.)

She mixed harder. "Yeah."

"When will you be un-mad?"

"When he apologizes."

They burst out laughing, except for Hinata, who seemed extremely confused.

Sakura smiled. "You're so funny. I keep forgetting you're new."

She wasn't about to ask an obvious question. Obviously the great Neji Hyuuga didn't lower himself to tasks such as saying sorry.

"Pompous ass," she muttered acidly.

"Ah!" Ino took the bowl from her hands. "Mix it, don't whip it!" She rotated the spoon thoughtfully. "Y'know I talked to him-"

"Ino!" Tenten gasped.

"You'll get used to it," Sakura assured her.

Ino continued, unabashed, "-and he doesn't even know why you're upset."

The brunette "psh"-ed and set the temperature on the oven. "Well if he doesn't know, I'm not going to tell him."

"So is the right of women everywhere," Ino grinned. "That's what Yoshino says."

"Who's Yoshino?"

"Shika's mom."

"Oh, so he's Shika now," Sakura teased. Ino flicked a piece of cookie dough at her.

They finished putting the cookies on sheets and put them in the oven.

"Okay, while those bake, we have to set up the lights in the garden." Sakura followed Ino to the closet and pulled out boxes and boxes of lights. "You two should stay and watch the cookies. And make more. Just in case." She glanced at Sakura and she gave the slightest nod.

"Okay." Hinata took the elastic band out of her hair.

"There's more stuff in the cupboard!" she called over her shoulder and kicked the back door shut with her foot.

"Can we watch a movie?" Hanabi asked, eyeing the hall that led to the TV room.

"Sure!" Tenten led her to where Neji was sitting boredly. Across from him was the movie shelf and Plasma TV. "What about…" She ignored him and scanned the collection for kid-friendly DVDs. "…Nightmare Before Christmas?"

"What's that?"

Her brown eyes widened. "You've never…Ah! You _need_ to watch this!" She put the disc in and tossed her a bag of candy. "You all set?"

"Mm-hm." Hanabi nodded happily and set to work on opening the bag.

Hinata, who had been trailing slowly behind, came in. She walked around the room and studied all the pictures on the mantle of the fireplace, sometimes standing there for more than a minute.

**They look so…happy.**

Tenten leaned against a wall that faced the TV so she could pretend to watch.

-

"And why did we leave them?" Sakura asked.

"So they can make up, duh."

"That's nice. But we can't do all the lights by ourselves!"

Ino laughed sheepishly. "Oh yeah." They walked a ways down the path behind her house. It led into a small wood, where the trees were lit up with color. Sakura couldn't help but stare, and kept almost-tripping over dips in the trail. She jumped badly when a voice interrupted their hike.

"Oi, Ino."

They looked to her right to see Shikamaru standing there. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Nothin."

He smiled dryly. "Not throwing a party?"

"Of course not; my parents would kill me. Like your mom would kill you if she knew you smoke."

"Relax! When have I ever told on you?"

"Never." She kicked the dirt, suddenly shy. "Will you help us?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

What's the point of asking Shikamaru?

**Yeah, he's such a lazy ass.**

He heaved a sigh, but took the box from her. "I'm assuming this qualifies as an invite?"

"Well I'm not going to pay you." But she said it with a smile.

"Why are you here anyway?" Sakura asked.

"Feeding the deer," he grunted as he shifted the box.

She tilted her head. "Deer?"

"Yeah. They're my dad's. But he's out drinking, so…"

"When's Choji coming over?"

"About an hour."

"Cool. You guys don't have costumes, but I'm sure you'll look okay."

-

Since Hinata had also not seen the movie, Tenten volunteered to make cupcakes. She poured the batter into the pan, and didn't acknowledge Neji when he came in.

"I don't understand why you're so mad at me." It wasn't apologetic or confused. Just a statement of fact, nothing more.

Her grip tightened on the spoon. "I'm mad at you because you're a sexist, arrogant asshole," she answered in the same cool voice.

"Oh I see." He smirked. "You're upset because you lost."

"I did not lose! You just assumed I lost because I'm a girl!"

"I assumed you lost because you cheated."

"In real fights, no one plays fair."

"I'm beginning to see that."

"You're impossible, you know that?" She sighed resignedly. They both heard it.

For now, a truce would be made.

He reached for the bowl and received a smack on the hand.

"Not yet," she chided, as if he were a child.

"Everyone knows it's better this way." He pinned her against him with one arm and used the other to dip in the mix.

His arm felt warm against her stomach, sending waves of…something to her chest. Well whatever they were, they were unwanted. "You're so weird." Tenten pulled away from him as she heard a door open.

"We're baaaack!" Ino shouted. "And we brought a couple strays."

Shikamaru scowled and walked through the kitchen doorway. "The couple of strays who set up your damn lights."

Choji smiled. "Do I smell cookies?"

Ino sighed in exasperation. "Wait til the party."

"Which starts in…two hours," Sakura added.

"Ohmygosh, really?! Hinata! We need to get ready!"

Hinata came in and her eyes widened a little.

"Hey Hinata," Choji said comfortably.

"Hi," she mumbled and inched toward Tenten.

"Let's _go_." Ino tugged Sakura's arm with impatience.

They stomped up the stairs to the giant bathroom connected to the master bedroom. The boys followed hesitantly.

"Out!" Ino shooed Choji away and slammed the door.

"What are we supposed to do?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know, play a board game or something! Just go away for a while!"

Neji sighed and they went to join Hanabi in the living room.

* * *

(1) hehe, guilty. 

This came out much later than expected. I want to finish Part 2 by tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.


	9. Happy Halloween!

I feel so James Bond right now. I've been grounded off the computer since Halloween (for reasons this author wil not enclose in an attempt to seem more mysterious), the official sentence being a week. But everyone's asleep and I'm going stir crazy, so...

Sorry for the delay!

* * *

"Okay, we're ready now!" The girls walked slowly down the stairs; Ino first, then Sakura, Hinata and Tenten. 

Neji's lips quirked when he saw Tenten. She wore a simple tan dress and matching moccasins. They looked expensive; Ino must have lent them to her. What surprised him was that her hair was in pigtail braids. He'd never seen them down before. A single red feather stuck up from the back of her head.

"You look…" He struggled for a word. "Nice."

"Thanks," she tugged her braids shyly and looked away.

"Okay okay," Ino said impatiently. "Now. How do I look?"

They laughed but looked her over all the same. She turned her hips side to side so her skirt would swish against her. It was covered in gauzy, colorful material with gold coins attached to the ends. They clinked together merrily. Her top was a simple white peasant blouse that revealed just a bit of cleavage. A red scarf tied her hair back, showing off her gold hoop earrings.

"Great," Sakura said without hesitation. She looked young and innocent in a little blue dress and matching ballet flats with ribbons tying up her legs. The wings were slightly tilted, as fake ones always are, but the flaws only made her cuter. Her green eyes sparkled, bright and hopeful for the night ahead.

But Hinata's transformation was by far the most dramatic. Her hair was purposely disheveled and it hung over her eyes, making them more mysterious and alluring. Black lipstick popped against her fair skin, but not in a cheap, scary way. It was almost…seductive. Around her neck was a black ribbon choker with a tiny silver cross. And her dress.

Black, satin corset, a little low-cut by Hinata's standards, but she was used to wearing sweatshirts everywhere. The skirt brushed the floor and she lifted the hem so she wouldn't step on it. She wore fingerless gloves that reached her elbow and showed off her ebony nails ("I had a phase," Ino explained as she pulled it from the back of her makeup box).

"And where's your costume?" Ino asked Neji.

He pulled a package out of his pocket (The label read "Vampire Teeth!") then stuck a pointed tooth on each canine.

"Done."

"You really went all out there," Tenten said dryly.

He shrugged and tossed another pack to Hinata. She slipped them in without wiping the lipstick off; they gave her a slight overbite.

Ino turned to the door and grabbed a tray of cookies. "Let's go!" They all grabbed another tray (except Hanabi), filed outside and she locked the door behind them.

A sign with an arrow pointed down the trail, telling them to follow the lights. Sure enough, there was a string of blinking orange lights running through the trees.

Tenten, in all honesty, felt a little uncomfortable. She was used to cities and houses, not this much…space. She found herself looking for things to hide behind, but shook it off. It was kind of ironic, she realized, to be Pocahontas when she didn't even like the woods.

-

When Ino had said "garden", what came to mind was a cute little flowery area, with maybe a fountain and statues.

A ten-foot tall hedge maze was not what Tenten had envisioned. It was a huge, mysterious labyrinth with glowing lights that led to the center of it.

The middle was also huge, but with more empty space and only a few benches and tables against the hedge walls. A sound system was hooked up, and speakers were ready.

"My parents throw parties here all the time, so even if we make a little mess they won't notice."

"This place is so…" Hinata sat on a bench dizzily. "Amazing."

"Yeah," Ino said in a blasé voice. She set the food down on the tables and hopped up and down anxiously. "I can't wait for them to co-ome!"

"Ino, knock it off; you're making me nauseous."

She stuck her tongue out. "Whatever, Shikamaru."

"Hey!" Kiba burst into the maze, Akamaru at his heels. Shino followed silently from behind.

"Hi!" Ino grinned and he winked at her. He was dressed all in pirate gear. He had even abandoned the hooded jacket, so his cute, messy brown hair was showing. He would never torture Akamaru and make him wear some ridiculous companion costume, so the dog looked like he usually did.

"What are you?" Sakura asked Shino. He was dressed in a black, high-collared coat that wasn't allowed in school, dark sunglasses, and his hair stuck out in random directions.

Kiba answered for him. "He didn't really dress up as anything, so I'm just gonna say he's Neo."

Ino giggled and inspected Kiba more closely. "Are you…wearing eyeliner?"

"Shut up!" he moaned. "My sister did it!"

"Actually…" Tenten tilted her head. "It's pretty hot."

The girls agreed while the rest of the boys shifted awkwardly.

Soon after, Lee appeared, followed by a very confused Naruto ("I got lost," he mumbled sheepishly). Both were ninjas, but Lee was a Ninja Turtle, Leonardo (1). To everyone's horror, he was dressed in a green, spandex unitard. Neji sighed and looked away in embarrassment.

Sasuke was last to arrive, but everyone was so surprised he came in the first place that they didn't notice how late he was. He was the Grim Reaper in a nondescript, black hooded cloak. Sakura restrained herself from looking desperate and just waved. He nodded and leaned against a wall.

-

"These are really good," Naruto exclaimed. He beamed and chomped another cookie.

"Hinata made them," Sakura said, pushing the girl forward.

"Whoa, Hinata!" He looked at her in amazement. "Just…whoa." She smiled, but the color of her face seemed to be drawing more attention.

"Th-thanks," she whispered.

Sakura leaned over and whispered, "Don't be so nervous. He wants to hang out with you." She smiled encouragingly and disappeared.

-

"Having fun?" Shikamaru lay on one of the benches, smoking and staring at the stars. He turned his head sideways so he could see Ino chewing the ends of her hair.

She jumped and dropped her hair. Her parents were always saying what a bad habit it was, so she only did it when she thought no one was looking. "Of course."

He knew she wasn't yet. Ino was never satisfied until everyone was having a good time.

"Could you put that out?" she asked, annoyed. He blew a smoke ring in her face, but he dropped it on the floor. Choji stepped on it and offered her a bag of candy corn, which he was using as a substitute for his chip bag. She took one without thinking.

As soon as she tasted it she gasped. "Choji! Ugh, I shouldn't be eating these!" Ino groaned and pushed the bag away. "They'll go right to my ass!"

"And that's a bad thing?" Kiba grinned and smacked it as he passed. She yelped then giggled.

Shikamaru looked away. "If you ate them the way we used to you wouldn't feel as guilty," he said to the hedge.

Ino allowed herself a smile and took a piece of candy corn out of the bag. She bit the top off, Shikamaru ate the middle, and Choji popped the bottom in his mouth.

"Ino-Shika-Cho," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

Choji's face lit up. "That reminds me!" He pulled a photo out of his pocket and beamed at her. "I found this a couple days ago."

She took it and laughed. "Oh my God, I remember this."

The picture was of the three of them on Halloween at about five years old, dressed as Lock, Shock and Barrel. (2)

Shikamaru smirked up at the camera with his devil horns and pitchfork in hand. Ino and Choji were on either side of him; she in a lavender witch's dress and hat, and he with a grinning skeleton mask over his face.

"Aww, you guys were so cute!"

Choji blushed. "So were you."

"No I wasn't."

"Don't say that." Shikamaru sat up and stared at her seriously.

She walked away. "Relax, Shika. It's fine."

-

"Hi."

Sasuke looked up. Sakura was there again, fidgeting with her skirt. She sat down next to him and hugged her knees.

"I'm glad you came," she said evenly. Not too desperate, not too bored. He sighed and sat down with her.

"To be honest, I came to get out of the house."

She didn't ask out loud. But her wide green eyes implored him to go on.

"My brother." He rested his chin in his hand.

"Oh."

Don't ask.

Maybe he wants to talk about it! 

Oh, obviously.

**Well something's bothering him.**

Sakura took his sleeve and stood up. "Come on."

"What?"

"Let's look around a little. It'll be fun."

He let her lead him away.

-

"They are not!"

"Yes they are!"

"Not!"

"Are!"

"There is no way in Hell that pirates are better than ninjas!" Naruto glared at Kiba ferociously.

"Oh dear God." Tenten laughed behind her hand.

"D-don't fight," Hinata pleaded.

"Especially not over something this stupid." Ino rolled her eyes. "It's obvious who wins, and both of you should be content with that."

"It's obvious to me, but this asshole has no idea!"

"Naruto…" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

Tenten laughed again, but it died in her throat. She felt a sick sort of dizziness that made her sit down heavily.

A rushing sound filled her ears and her hand went to her head.

_"C'mon, this the best part." He smirked at her. "You're not scared, are ya?"_

"Tenten?"

"What?" She felt like she was shouting to someone far away.

It stopped.

"Are you okay?" Lee tilted his head at her. Neji scrutinized her too. How long had she been out?

"Fine." She smiled at them. "I think I just need to clear my head." She got up and walked toward the exit.

-

"I love it out here," Sakura sighed. She stared up at the stars and a warm feeling of contentment settled in her stomach. They twinkled at her, and she grinned back.

Sasuke picked at his shoes moodily.

"It's better if you actually look." She took his hand (gently, so he wouldn't jerk away. Boys were shy like that) and had him lay down beside her, on his back. "Don't think so much, you know?" She turned to see if he was enjoying it at all.

His dark eyes swallowed her up. They didn't show any specific emotions, but they were there, just unfamiliar to both of them.

A blush crept up her face, and she let go of his hand. "See the North Star?" she asked, as if she were nine years old again.

"Hn."

And for once it felt like he was actually thinking, instead of brushing her off.

-

"Bye!" Ino waved frantically. "Glad you could make it!" Cars drove off with arms stuck out the window, waving in response. She giggled and spun around. "This was so fun!"

"Yeah." Shikamaru and Choji stood there awkwardly until she gave them a hug.

"Bye guys." She closed her eyes for a minute and took them in. "I'll probably see you tomorrow."

They smiled and walked to Shikamaru's house next door.

"Seeya Hinata!" Naruto waved and skated down the street. Hinata waved shyly.

"Bye," she murmured.

"Where's Sakura?" Ino asked curiously. "I haven't seen her since like the middle of the party. And Tenten?"

Neji shrugged. "She said she had to clear her head."

"M-maybe she went back," Hinata suggested. "To the house, I m-mean."

"Probably." They set off for the house and went in through the front. "Tenten?" Ino crept down the hall and came upon the living room. She smiled.

Tenten lay asleep on the couch, with Hanabi huddled in her arms. She slipped in as quietly as she could, turned the TV off, and pulled a blanket over the two.

Neji watched them for a moment, contemplating on how he and his cousin had immersed this girl, this odd, frustrating girl, into their lives so quickly.

Ino shrugged. "Sakura must be in the bathroom."

They laid down blankets for themselves in the living room and fell dead asleep, not even bothering to change.

* * *

(1) Because I am this much of a nerd, I made Lee the dedicated leader of the Ninja Turtles. (From the good cartoon in 1987. I wasn't alive yet, but my brother had the tapes xP) 

(2) I always picture those three as Lock, Shock and Barrel. I can't help it; their characters fit so well.


	10. The Aftermath

Halloo! It's been a while! As a humble apology, I offer up a double update. smiles and backs away slowly

Also! I give long-overdue credit to Calvin the stupendos man, for giving me the idea to make Ino a gypsy, and for just being an awesome reviewer. x)

* * *

**-November 1st, 10:17 a.m.-**

Sasuke's heart raced. He ran down the street as fast as his legs would carry him, but it was useless. He would be around every corner, in every window, watching him.

Someone was crying softly. For the life of him he couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"Hello?" he called, to no reply.

_There's no one here._ Darkness crept around his ankles, pulling him down. _You will always be alone._

_And I'll always be watching._

His eyes snapped open. He was disoriented (and though he wouldn't admit it, frightened) and quickly took in his surroundings. Trees surrounding him, cold, damp earth on his side, a warm body pressed against him.

He looked down.

**Shit.**

Sakura's head was on his chest, and she was the one who was crying. She was having her own nightmare.

"Sakura," he whispered. "Wake up." He shook her and she opened her eyes. She yelped and jumped up.

"Oh my gosh, come on!"

"What?" he asked irritably.

"I'm probably getting picked up soon, and your parents must be worried-"

"They're dead."

She blushed in mortification. "I'm so sorry. I just meant-"

"I know." He sat up and cracked his neck. "Let's go."

-

Hanabi woke up on the couch by herself, a blanket wrapped over her.

"Hey," Ino said softly, so as not to wake anyone else. "You want pancakes?"

She nodded and slipped off the couch, nearly stepping on Neji's face. She suppressed a laugh and jumped over him.

"So you're a morning person too?" the blonde asked as she busied herself. Hanabi climbed into a barstool.

"I guess." She rested her chin in her hands. "Is Tenten okay?"

"I think so. She's in the shower."

"She was sad last night."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm." Ino mixed thoughtfully. "She seemed fine this morning. I'm sure she's okay."

"…Okay."

The batter sizzled when it hit the pan. She hummed to herself and got out a spatula.

"Who's that?" Hanabi asked not more than five minutes later.

Two faces were in the kitchen window, staring hungrily at the pancakes.

"Jesus!" Ino jumped and went to open the door. "Come in," she sighed.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Don't blame me. My mom left us Alpha-Bits."

"And you _know_ those are just Lucky Charms without marshmallows. They're horrible!" Choji looked around and spotted Hanabi. "Am I right?" he asked.

She giggled and nodded.

Tenten came downstairs in jeans and a sweatshirt. "Do I smell pancakes?" She grinned and ruffled Hanabi's hair. "Hey kid."

"Just in time. With these guys there won't be any left when everyone wakes up."

"Sweet." She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Toss me one."

Neji was the next awake; he wasn't one to sleep in. Hanabi finished her pancake and started braiding his hair. He sighed inaudibly and continued eating. Tenten eventually joined them.

"So where is Sakura?" Tenten asked.

"Oh my God!" Ino's hand flew to her mouth. "I haven't seen her since last night! Where do you think she'd be?"

"Maybe…"

The door opened slowly, and the missing person in question poked her head in meekly. "Um, hi."

"Where have you been?!"

"I fell asleep."

Ino opened the door further and they saw an uncomfortable-looking Sasuke standing there.

"Fell asleep?" Tenten repeated with a smirk. Sakura blushed and scowled at her with a perfect "shut up!" face.

Sasuke shot her a glare. "I'm going." He walked to the front door, then as an afterthought, turned around.

"I'll see you Monday, Sakura."

"Bye."

As soon as the door slammed shut, the girls started buzzing in excitement.

Ino slammed her hand on the table. "What the hell was _that_?!"

"It's nothing, I-"

"Did you do anything?"

"_Tenten_!"

"It's just a question, gosh."

"No, we didn't _do_ anything."

Choji, Shikamaru and Neji retreated into the living room, where Hinata slept soundly; curled up in a corner by the fireplace.

"They're all crazy." Shikamaru shook his head.

Neji set his plate aside. "Hm."

"Ino's reacting okay," Choji said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. A couple years ago, she'd have imploded by now."

"You think Sakura has a shot at him?"

"Choji. If you're gonna talk about it, do it with _them_." The black-haired boy jabbed a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. "What's on TV?" He picked up the remote and flicked it on.

"Well just make yourselves at home," Ino huffed.

"We should go." Neji stood, feeling he was overstaying his welcome. He started toward Hinata when the blonde stopped him.

"Don't wake her up! I didn't mean you, I meant them." She flicked their heads. "It's fine if you hang around here. Not that there's a lot to do…" Her eyes lit up suddenly. "Shikamaruuu…"

"Whaaat?" He mimicked her prolonged use of his name. He knew this trick. She only did that when she asked for something, dare he say it, troublesome.

"Can you take us to see the deer?" She draped her arms around his neck from behind. "Please?" Her chin rested on the top of his head.

"Alright alright, just get off me."

"Yay!" She sprang up triumphantly. "Let me just put the leftovers in the freezer and we'll go. Well, we'll wait for Sakura to shower, I guess."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at her and ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

Tenten scribbled a note for Hinata and stuck it to the wall.

-

"So how's Neko been doing?" Ino asked as they walked down the path. Shikamaru lit a cigarette and took a drag.

"She had her baby a couple months ago." The girls "Aww"-ed and he rolled his eyes. "Uh. Yeah. Follow me."

He stopped at a fenced-in area and swung his legs over, then clicked his tongue softly. "Hey."

A doe looked up and slowly made its way over. Ino joined him and petted its nose.

"I haven't seen you in forever," she whispered excitedly. It looked at her with deep, intelligent eyes.

"You guys can come in too, y'know."

They climbed the fence quietly and waited. Surprisingly enough, the deer seemed to be extremely fond of Neji, who stood off to the side uncomfortably. The baby nudged his hand, hoping for a treat, but he had none. When it realized this, it went back to Shikamaru. He always had something.

Hanabi and Tenten giggled when one licked his face.

**If I only had a camera.**

"Stop laughing," he said with annoyance.

"It's cute," she protested, and ran her fingers through one's coat. "They like you."

"Fantastic." His eye twitched as another pink tongue rolled across his cheek.

-

When they got back, Hinata was still asleep. Neji sighed and shook her awake. "Hinata, come on. We have to go."

She yawned softly and looked around. "I'm sorry! How l-late did I sleep?"

"A while." Ino smiled. "It's fine. It's not like my parents are coming home any time today."

"Still, we should go. Tenten?"

She stopped picking at a scab on her knee and looked up. "Yeah?"

"Are you going home with us?"

"If you want."

"Come on then."

Hinata went to the bathroom to change and Tenten gathered her costume. She handed the shoes to Ino and grinned. "Thanks."

"No problem."

A car horn honked outside. Sakura groaned, "That's my mom. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Kay." She and Ino hugged and she ran out the door. The Hyuugas and Tenten soon cleared out as well, waving goodbye and thanking her.

The blonde stood at the door. She always felt a little sick when her friends left her after a sleepover, almost like she would cry. Shikamaru and Choji knew her clingyness well. It wasn't like most needy, pathetic clinging. It was more commanding. But nevertheless (and even if she wouldn't admit it) Ino hated being alone.

"Let's do something!" she said aloud. "We should go for a walk."

Shikamaru snorted. "Or. We could stay here and eat all your food. Sound good?"

Choji nodded and settled into an armchair.

"Sorry. Majority wins."

She pouted. "You guys suck."

He yawned indifferently and stretched out. Ino sighed, sitting next to him. He flipped through the TV without picking anything. On his third go-around she snatched the remote away from him. "Go slower! How can you even see what's on?"

"Meh."

Ino pulled his hair out of the tie and played with it absentmindedly. "So. Only fifty-five shopping days until Christmas."

"Is that all you think about?" he mumbled. He was finding it hard to be coherent when he was so relaxed. She didn't answer, only ran her fingers over his scalp and…was she braiding his hair?

"What are you doing?"

"Relax, it's not like we're going anywhere. I need something to do with my hands." She smacked the back of his head when he snorted. "Perv."

He made himself sound incredulous. "I'm insulted."

"Yeah yeah. Just pick a channel."

* * *

So...yeah.

Onward! 


	11. The Bitch Is Back

**-1****st**** Period (Earth Science)-**

"So what'd you do Sunday?" Tenten asked as she doodled on her hand. She'd finished etching a barbed-wire tattoo around her wrist and was working on her fingers.

Ino yawned and rested her head on the desk. "Not much. Just watched TV and finished some homework."

"Babysitting." Sakura made a face. "I swear, my mom's like whoring me out to her friends with kids."

They laughed, but it was short-lived. Sasuke came in and sat down moodily. Sakura blushed on reflex.

"Morning Sasuke." Even though she was barely audible, he looked up at her through heavily-lidded eyes.

"Hey," he mumbled and went back to filling in the white parts of his Converse with black Sharpie. It didn't take long for his fingers to turn black.

"Are…" She bit her lip, but nodded to herself. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," was his curt response.

"Okay."

"Alright, sit down." Mr. Hatake walked into the classroom. He smiled brightly. "Sorry I'm late; this dog-" he trailed off at the looks of exasperation. "Okay, here's the deal. I have to assign you a project, or I won't have anything but labs to give you a quarter grade for! Hehe…well! Might as well see how you work with each other, so pick a partner. You may be tempted to pick a friend, but remember that this will be 75 percent of your grade. Go with someone you can work efficiently with. Once you've found someone get an instruction sheet up front."

"Ino," Sakura hissed. "Don't tell me you're going with Te- meep!" A rough hand yanked her, and she found herself facing about twelve pissed-looking girls.

"I am _not_ partnering with any of you," Sasuke spat from off to her left. "So just…fuck off."

A few of them damn near burst into tears and the rest shot Sakura dirty looks, as if she were controlling Sasuke's vocal chords. But eventually they cleared out and he loosened his grip on her arm.

"…If that's all you need…I have to find a partner." She backed away slowly, hoping he would call her back.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?"

"You're smart, right?"

Her cheeks turned pink and she pulled her hair. "I guess."

He looked away in annoyance. Perhaps it was that she'd put him in the vulnerable position. Or he was just annoyed in general that morning. But either way, he swallowed his pride for once.

"You can work with me."

Well, some of his pride.

-SKIP, SKIPSKIPSKIP SKIIIIP!-

**-(End of) 4****th**** Period (Social Studies)**

"Remember, the packet's due next class. Get it done!" Asuma called down the hall to Shikamaru. The boy raised a hand in acknowledgement.

"Hey, Asuma." The man looked up to see Ino smirking at him. Even the teachers had learned to fear this.

"What?" he said, almost afraid to ask.

"So I hear things." She sat on the corner of his desk and grinned cheekily.

Asuma sighed and looked up from grading papers. He rubbed his face tiredly. "What kinds of things?"

"Got a girlfriend, Asuma?"

"No."

"Got a boyfriend?"

"No! What kind of things have you heard?"

"Things like…you liking one of the teachers here." The skinny blonde squealed when she saw him blush. "I knew it! You like Ku-re-nai," she sang. But just as quickly her face became serious. "What are you going to do about it?"

"What's there to do about it?"

"You should ask her out! You have a chance. I mean, compared to the other guy teachers, anyway. If she already has an outside boyfriend forget it, but I don't think…"

"Ino, I know you like this sort of thing, but it's not the same if you're an adult."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, it's the exact same thing and you know it. You should give her flowers."

"What? Why?"

But Ino was miles away. "Yeah! She seems like the kind of person who appreciates things like that. And it could be anonymous; it's so much more romantic. I can get really nice ones too. What do you think?"

"I think you're going to miss your bus."

'Agh!" She hopped off the desk and ran out the door, then popped her head back in a second later. "Think about it, okay? I think she likes you too."

He smiled at her. "Bus. Go catch it."

"Right!" Ino rushed out the door and he sighed.

"First Kakashi, now Ino. What am I going to do?"

Outside, Ino debated stopping at her locker.

**I'm sure I'll have time.**

She jogged down the stairs and to the front door, finding Choji and Shikamaru sitting dejectedly on the steps.

"The bus left," Shikamaru said obviously.

"Fan-fricken-tastic!" She stamped her foot on the ground and made a muted screech of frustration. The boys cringed slightly, and had a brief flashback of her many childhood temper tantrums. "And it's too far to walk. Damnit!"

"Might as well go home," Choji said meekly.

Ino cooled down as quickly as her temper had flared. "I guess." The two of them stood, then each grabbed one of Shikamaru's arms to pull him up.

**-CanTeen Bus-**

"Where's Ino?" Sakura asked.

Tenten shrugged. "I dunno. She was there in Social Studies."

"Shikamaru and Choji aren't here either," Lee observed.

"Maybe they're on the other bus."

"No; we always use this one." Sakura looked around anxiously as they got off the bus. Naruto was of course the first one inside. He bounced off the walls a little bit, showing off his ADHD, until he came to the video game pile.

"Oh. My. God." He knelt in front of the TV with a look of sheer awe in his eyes. "They…they got it."

"G-got what, Naruto?"

"Look!" He held up a disc in front of her eyes for a few seconds, then whipped it into the game system. "Tekken! It's the newest one, I can't believe it's here! You gotta play!" He shoved a controller at her and pulled her down next to him.

"But…I don't-"

"Here, lemme show you." Naruto laughed and slung his arm around her so he could position her hands on the controller. "Okay, it's a fighting game, so it has all the basic moves. Jump with this, kick with this, this is punch, and combos." He pressed her fingers to each respective button. She blushed and he grinned proudly. "This could work. You teach me school stuff, and I teach you useless motor skills."

"You like it, Naruto?" Iruka smiled in satisfaction.

"Hell yeah! Thanks Iruka!"

Hinata giggled and Naruto took a controller of his own. "Now pick a person to play as." She obeyed and selected one of the girl characters. "Ready?" She nodded. "Okay, go!"

He pushed the buttons randomly and spastically, not really aiming at anything. Hinata dodged, jumped and kicked when he couldn't block. She squeaked when he came at her and took her down mercilessly.

"It was good for your first try," he said encouragingly. "But some advice, don't bother with being careful. I don't know what I'm doing more than half the time, and I still kick ass."

"Oh…okay."

"Now, play me again!"

"What are you reading?" Ino asked. Sakura held the book to her chest.

"Twilight."

She groaned. "Gawd, could you be any more transparent?"

"How'd you guys miss the bus anyway?" Ino asked.

"Well, you're always there telling us to hurry up. Without you there we didn't."

"So…technically this is all your fault," Shikamaru said with a smirk.

"Shut up," she pouted.

"Hey kid!"

The three of them looked up.

"You! The dark-haired one, with the bad attitude!"

Shikamaru whipped around to see a smirking blonde girl, sitting in a red Corvette. The smirk slipped into a grin and she leaned out the window.

"Temari?! Wh…What are you doing here?" he asked in shock.

"I go here now."

"I thought you were out of school."

"College." She turned to face the other two. "Hey Choji, Ino."

"Hi," she said, her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Dayum! Ino?" A boy smushed Temari's face so they both fit in the window. He nodded approvingly. "You look _good_."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."

"No, seriously! Maybe you could show me around Konoha…starting with your room?"

"Knock it off, Kankuro." Temari shoved him into the backseat and sighed. "Honestly, he's a fricking animal. Can't take him anywhere."

"Is Gaara in there too?" Choji asked timidly.

"Uh-huh. He'll be coming to your school. Along with Puppet-Boy."

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

Ino wrapped her finger in her hair. "So where are you guys staying?"

"I got an apartment."

"Oh. Cool."

The silence stretched on until Temari said, "I gotta go. But you should visit sometime." She took Shikamaru's hand and wrote her address across his palm. Then she smiled knowingly. "Seeya."

He grinned back. "Yeah."

-

A scream blasted through the speaker of Sakura's cell phone. She winced and held it away from her ear. Tenten giggled at the sight and stepped out of the darts game she was playing with Neji and Lee. "Give me a minute."

"What is it Ino? And where are you? Why'd you miss the bus?"

"I'm at home. But she's back!"

"Who's back?" the pink-haired girl frowned at the tone of Ino's voice.

"Temariiiii!" she wailed. Tenten froze.

"What did she say?" she whispered, but Sakura waved her away.

"Oh no. But I thought she'd be in college by now!"

"She is. _Here_."

"Oh no!"

"I don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry, we'll think of something. That won't happen again."

"Promise?" Her voice cracked a little.

She bit her lip. "I promise."

* * *

Mm-hm. I bet someone saw this coming. I don't want to make this some generic love triangle thing, okay? I really like Temari, and I'll be treading carefully!

Some of you may be asking yourselves, "Isn't this supposed to be a NejiTen?!?!!?!1!!"

And yes. It is. I'm building on it. Play guess the plot with me! xD

Anyway, I hope someone enjoyed this. Cupcakes all around!

-immc


	12. Chapter 12

Hi yalls, new chaptah!**

* * *

**

**-2****nd**** Period (Gym)-**

Tenten walked outside and stretched. She grinned when she spotted Neji and Lee and ran at them, but stopped in mid-step.

Lee hopped around a boy with dark-red hair and a permanent frown. His eyes were bright aqua, and an odd thing; he had no eyebrows. He crossed his arms almost defensively. Obviously not a social one. But that was Lee, always trying to bring out the best in everyone. He hung out with _Neji_, for God's sake.

She felt herself lose balance and yelped when her face hit the dirt.

"Tenten!" Lee rushed to help her up and she laughed.

"Thanks. I'm a little loopy today…"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "A little."

"Neh." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh! I forgot. Tenten, this is Gaara. He just moved here from California."

"Hi," she said, brushing her hair in front of her face.

"Tenten…" He regarded her unblinkingly. She cringed away from his slightly disturbing eyes.

"You seem…familiar," he said in his slow, quiet way.

**Don't, please don't.**

"Really?" She kept her voice light and mildly interested. "I don't think I've met you before."

"Tenten?" Lee's head tilted quizzically. "Do you know him? Maybe from when you moved?"

"It's possible. Ah, I don't feel good. Let's fight next time, Neji."

He nodded, but grudgingly. She practically sprinted back inside.

**-Lunch-**

"Tenten."

The girl looked up from her tray to Neji.

"Where'd you go? You were gone for an hour."

"The nurse. I laid down for a while, but I'm okay now." She smiled brightly and went back to picking at her chicken patty.

His mouth set itself into a thin line. He knew she was lying, because Lee had felt the need to check on her after twenty minutes.

"So Gaara, why did you move here?" Sakura asked, resting her chin on her hand.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he said.

"Oh. Okay." She looked down dejectedly.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You should go to the CanTeen! You can meet everybody, and eat stuff, and-" he went on and on about the finer points of CanTeen to Gaara, who seemed perplexed with all the attention he was getting.

"I'll go," he finally replied.

"Cool!"

**-CanTeen Bus-**

"What is this place, anyway?" Kankuro flipped the hood of his sweatshirt down and stared at the building. Gaara said nothing.

"It's easier to find out if you go inside." Ino walked ahead of him through the door. He smirked and watched her.

"I could get to like it here." The brothers followed her and went to have a look. "Not bad," Kankuro said approvingly. He punched the soda machine and a can fell into his waiting hand.

"Can we go for a walk?" Tenten whispered to Neji.

He turned to look at her anxious face. "Sure."

"Tenten?"

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. She moved slightly behind Neji when they turned around. He noticed and looked at her curiously.

"It is you! I'd know that ass anywhere!" Kankuro grinned and slung an arm around her shoulders. "What're you doing here?"

Her cheeks turned pink. "Nothin."

"Y' look better. Well, I guess anything is an improvement over-"

"Kankuro! Can we talk for a minute?" Her voice edged on hysteria, but she kept herself from losing it. "Wait here," she told Neji.

Though he didn't take to being commanded to do anything, he stood where he was, hands in his pockets.

About five minutes passed before he got impatient. He walked over to the door and was about to open it, until a small part of him told him not to. This Kankuro seemed shady. Neji had automatically disliked him, as soon as he'd seen him. And on top of that, he was bothering Tenten. Maybe he could just…learn a little bit more about him. He opened the door a crack and peered out.

Tenten stood in front of him dangerously, even though he was a head taller than her. "You can't tell anyone."

"Fine."

"Promise!"

"Babe, relax! It's no big deal." He smiled at her warmly. "I was actually kinda hoping I'd see you again."

She paused. "Really?"

He laughed. "Yeah, really. Come on…" His fingers slipped through the belt loops on her jeans, and he gently pulled her closer. "It can be like it used to be."

Tenten could feel herself slipping.

_Like it used to be._

He was warm against her cold body.

_So warm…_

_"This is the best part."_

"I can't." She pushed away from him and rubbed her arms. "I…Neji's waiting."

At the mention of his name he snapped out of it and went back to sit on the couch. Tenten came in and grabbed his hand. "Let's go." He let her pull him out a different door, leaving Kankuro and his offer behind.

-

"So who is this guy?" Neji finally asked. They were walking down the road. It was peaceful, except for the sound of an occasional passing car.

"Who, Kankuro?"

His expression was exasperated, so she cut the subtleties. "I met him a while ago. Under….less than ideal circumstances."

"Were you friends?"

She looked at him with slight surprise. "Sort of. Why?"

"You didn't seem happy to see him. Or his brother."

"It's just…not a time I want to be reminded of." She rubbed her arms again.

"Are you cold?"

"No," she lied.

"Tenten."

"Okay, yeah." Before she could protest, Tenten found herself wrapped in Neji's leather jacket. He walked ahead of her quickly, as if he was embarrassed. The Great Neji Hyuuga, playing an awkward teenage boy. She'd never been so tickled.

"Hey, wait up!" She grinned and ran to catch up with him.

-

By the time they got back, almost everyone had left. Only Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were there, studying or working.

"-and he says we're having a test on Monday! What am I gonna do?!"

"Um-" Hinata poked her fingers together. "M-maybe you could…come over? On Sunday?" she practically whispered.

"Perfect! Is it okay if I come at two?"

Her little squeak of "Fine!" made him smile.

"Well, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow; you rock Hinata!" He threw his skateboard on the pavement and jumped on it, then took off.

Tenten ran over and hugged her. "You did so good!" she squealed. "And now you'll get to spend the day together! Oh this is so cool!"

"You and Naruto? Hinata," Neji said with disdain. There was also a hint of "shame on you" in his voice that made her cringe.

"Oi, Sunshine. Quit pissing on our parade."

Sakura giggled and checked the clock. "Ugh, I have to go too. Do you need a ride? My mom's coming in like a minute."

"No, it's alright." Sasuke went back to scribbling notes.

"Are you sure? It's no problem…"

He seemed to have an internal struggle with himself before answering.

"Okay."

"And you," Neji said to Tenten. "We'll be dropping you off-"

"-at the park," she finished for him. He sighed resignedly.

"It's getting colder out."

"I'm fine, Mom."

His cheeks tinged red.

**I wish he blushed like Hinata,** she thought with a grin.

Neji scowled at her. How dare she embarrass him in front of everyone!

Tenten hugged him from behind. He knocked her arm away and went back outside. "Aww, don't be like that." She exchanged a glance with Hinata, who giggled nervously. "Neji Hyuuga, are you pouting?"

"Oh, that's my mom." Sakura hurried out with Sasuke lagging behind her.

"Hi," she said as she got in the car.

"Sakura, who is this?" her mother asked with a knowing smile. Sakura about died inside, but put on a poker face.

"Sasuke. Can you give him a ride?"

Please don't do it.

I swear to fricking- 

"_Oh._ So _this_ is Sasuke. Of course we can." She winked with none too much discretion and turned to face ahead.

Kill me.

**KILL ME?! KILL ****HER!**

Sasuke ignored this, and any of her mother's attempts at friendly conversation. For once Sakura was glad for his icy disposition.

"Thanks," he mumbled and got out.

"Bye."

"Bye!" her mother waved out the window.

When she got home she stomped past the boyfriend, up the stairs, and into her room to scream in her pillow.

* * *

I feel so good, I've recently had more enthusiasm for writing, so I'm halfway through the next chapter. And it's mostly NejiTen and NaruHina because I've neglected it badly. Hopefully it'll be out soon! 

-Shameless review-whore comment here-


	13. Chapter 13

**-Sunday, 2:30 p.m. (Hyuuga House)-**

**He's not coming.**

Hinata bit her nails and curled up on the stairs in the foyer.

**He probably forgot me again.**

She pressed her palms against her eyes.

The doorbell rang, startling her out of her fears. She ran to stop the incessant knocking before her father got annoyed and smiled with relief. A real smile.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late. I brought stuff!" Naruto stood in front of her, looking more like a playmate than a study partner with a duffel bag full of video games. "You teach me, I teach you, remember?"

"Come in," she said softly, the smile still bright on her face.

He kicked off his muddy Nikes and stepped inside. His jaw promptly dropped. "Whoa. This place is so _cool_. Where's your room?"

"M-my r-room?"

"Well are we gonna study or what? I want to pass this thing so bad. They don't think I can do it, y'know."

"I do," she said firmly. He smiled at her, suddenly shy.

"Really?"

"Mm-hm!" She nodded and went up the stairs, Naruto close behind. They went down the hallway to the end.

"Naruto."

They looked back.

Neji had stepped out of his room and was staring severely at the two of them.

"Neji," Naruto said in the same haughty tone. Hinata bit her lip to keep from smiling.

The boys had a standoff for a moment, but after a while Naruto shrugged. "C'mon, Hinata."

Hinata's room was very small and a little drab, mostly colored with white and lavender. She had a small twin bed in the corner, a flatscreen TV on the wall, purple faerie posters, and a white desk with a lamp.

She sat on the bed and fussed nervously with her floral-patterned comforter before grabbing a stuffed fox, the only thing in the room that wasn't purple. (1)

Naruto sat backwards in the desk chair to face her. "You want to play or study first?" When she didn't answer he smiled. "Me too." He hooked up the game system he'd brought in the duffel bag to her TV, then handed her a controller. "By the time we're done with this," he told her seriously, "I want you to be owning my ass. Got it?"

"Got it."

-

Neji was slightly surprised to hear the doorbell ring again. He hoped it wasn't one of Hanabi's demonic friends. That boy with the cape made his eye twitch.

He was even more surprised, however, when Hiashi called him down. "The girl that slept over," he said with a face of slight curiosity. Neji went down the stairs quickly to see her leaning against the banister nonchalantly.

"Tenten?"

"Hey." She waved. "I just came to give you your jacket back. I forgot I was wearing it last night and-"

"Keep it."

"Really?"

He sighed. "Yes, Tenten."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "You're…mad at me."

Neji looked at her and felt himself deflate. "I guess not."

She smiled in relief. "Oh. Was it against the rules?"

"Was what?"

"Messing around. I mean, if I'm being annoying, tell me."

"That's not it," he said with a frown. "You're not annoying, just…"

"Just…?"

"I don't know. It's not bad, whatever it is."

She half-smiled. "Wanna go to the park?"

-

"Study-break!" Naruto declared, slamming his hand on the desk.

Hinata jumped. "But, we just started."

"All the more reason to go now, so we don't interrupt anything! You got anything to eat?" he asked.

"Mm-hm. Come with me." They slipped down the staircase and into the kitchen. "We don't have ramen," she said apologetically.

"Ah, that's okay. What about…" He scanned the cupboards, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Sandwiches?"

She nodded and went to get bread and sammich-fixins (you heard me). "Do you have fluff?"

"What?"

"Fluff!" He looked at her inquisitive face and sighed. "I'll look for it." He hopped up onto the counter (being too short to reach) and went through everything he could get at. Once he got to the middle section of cupboards he let out a triumphant whoop. "Found it!" He held out the container of marshmallow fluff and tossed it to Hinata, then jumped down. "I am going to show you how to make a Fluffernutter."

"A Fluffernutter?"

"A Fluffernutter." He spread peanut butter onto two pieces of bread, then went to put it in the fluff. "Pay attention; this is important. Don't wipe the knife. Fluff's really sticky, but the peanut butter greases it up so you can spread it better."

Hinata nodded studiously.

Naruto scooped out an insane amount of the melted marshmallow and whipped it on the bread. He did the same to the other piece, and topped them off with another slice. He pounded it down with his fist, making some off the fluff explode out the sides.

"Here." He grinned proudly and she took it. It almost reached her mouth-

"Hinata."

The girl paled visibly, and she slowly turned to face her father. He stood ominously before her.

"Y-yes?" she whispered.

"Who is-" he made a Neji-face in Naruto's general direction. Naruto wondered with annoyance if that was the standard Hyuuga face or it was made especially for him. "-_that_?"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" he said, taking a defensive stance by Hinata. "Hinata's helping me study."

"Is she doing you any good? Her own grades are mediocre at best."

She hid behind a curtain of navy hair and tried not to do anything embarrassing. Her feet went pigeon-toed and her legs bent at the knees, like she would to crumple right in front of them.

"She's a great teacher!" Naruto nearly shouted. "I wouldn't even be passing if she wasn't here."

Hiashi looked skeptical, but shrugged it off. "Don't let me interrupt your "studying"." He left the kitchen.

Hinata collapsed onto a chair.

"What a jerk," the blonde boy growled.

She dropped her head sadly. "No. He's r-right. If I st-studied harder, m-maybe I could…be in m-more advanced classes, l-like Neji."

He snorted in dismissal. "You're twice as good as _Neji_ at anything. Besides, you're nicer. That has to count for something."

She sniffled, but eventually looked up. "Thank you, Naruto."

"No problem." They stood in silence for a while before he picked up his sandwich. "I'm gonna eat this now."

Hinata laughed and took a bite of her own.

"So?" He looked at her expectantly. "You like it?"

"It's good!" she said with a full mouth. A few crumbs sprayed out of her mouth and her face reddened. Naruto burst out laughing.

-

"So."

"So?" Neji raised an eyebrow and came face to upside-down face with Tenten. She swayed slightly on the monkey bars and smiled.

"I'm curious."

"About what?"

"You." She sat up, slipped through the bars, and landed effortlessly. "Let's talk about Neji."

"Neji doesn't feel like talking."

Tenten looked a little disappointed, but nodded. "Okay." She straightened the hem of her shirt anxiously and turned to climb again.

"Maybe…"

She looked back.

"You can ask me a question if I can ask you something."

Tenten pulled at her bangs, pondering. Finally she sighed. "Okay. I'll go first." She stared at him evenly. "Why are you living with Hinata?"

"My mother died in childbirth. My dad…he died when I was four. Now. What is that?"

"What?"

He reached forward hesitantly, waiting for her consent. When she nodded, he pushed her shirt up gently. His jaw tightened.

Angry scars crisscrossed over her stomach and sides. They were wide and long, like big claw marks all over her.

"What are those?"

"Scars."

His eyes burned. "What happened to you?" Tenten smiled and took his hands away.

"One question allowed." She squeezed his hands. "I have to go."

"But-"

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She waved behind her as she jogged away.

-

(1) I had to, okay?! Curse my inability to ignore the warm fuzzy-fluff inside my head! (It's about all that's in there)


	14. Chapter 14

Double update, again, to make up for this one being so short. Lately it seems like everything I write turns into crap.

Rawr.

I love you reviewers! You make my day when I come home and it says I have 8 messages and more than two are actual reviews! makes me warm & fuzzy inside :)

* * *

**-Lunch (Thursday)-**

"So, you and Sakura are getting along."

"Hn." Sasuke bit into a breadstick, not bothering to look up. Naruto ignored the boy's aloofness and leaned forward.

"Do you like her?"

The simplicity (and straightforwardness) of the question startled him. He took his time chewing, and swallowed heavily. "I don't know."

Naruto groaned in frustration. "How can you not know?!"

"When I'm with her it's like…she makes me forget, all the bad things that ever happened to me."

"So you do like her."

"But I'm supposed to remember. I can't just drop everything, start over."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't!" He shoved his tray away and got up. "Don't follow me," he barked over his shoulder. The blonde sat obediently.

"She really likes you, y'know!" he called.

"I know," Sasuke mumbled.

**That's why I have to be careful.**

**-After school-**

"Hey Hinata!" Sakura slowed in the hall to stand next to the petite dark-haired girl. "What're you doing?"

"Oh. Waiting for N-Naruto." She smiled and let her hair fall in her face. "He's getting his test back today." People shoved past them, trying to get to their buses before they left. Naruto's class hadn't let out yet, and so they waited anxiously together.

He finally shuffled out. His sky blue eyes lit up when he saw them. "Hinata, look!" He clutched a piece of paper in his hand. A red 92 was circled at the top and he grinned hugely. "I've never got an A on anything!" He picked her up and hugged her. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Naruto! Put her down before she throws up!" Sakura looked at Hinata's face fearfully, as it was turning an intriguing shade of crimson and mauve.

"Oh, sorry." He blushed a little himself as he set her on the ground. "Why are we standing around? Let's go! C'mon Hinata!" He led her away by the hand, since she seemed mildly paralyzed at the moment.

**-CanTeen-**

"Heads up!" Neji felt something jump on his back. He smiled since no one could see and grabbed Tenten's legs to get a better hold on her.

"You're getting better at that." She smirked and remembered Monday morning, when she'd tackled him and he'd toppled forward on his knees. She'd figured it would be the easiest way to tell if he was mad at her for not telling him everything. Luckily he acted like it never happened. Neji just wasn't a nosy person. That's what she loved about him.

Liked about him.

"You're heavy," he grunted and she slid off his back.

"And you're lucky I'm not Ino. She might've slit your throat if you'd said that to her. Especially now." Tenten picked at her hip under her shirt. She'd taken to doing that when she was nervous, Neji noticed. It infuriated him that she wouldn't talk about it, but he wasn't about to ask her. She obviously liked her privacy, as did he.

"Have you noticed?"

"Hm?"

She groaned. "Ino. Have you noticed she's been…off lately?"

"She's not as loud."

"Exactly! This Shikamaru thing is really bringing her down."

"What Shikamaru thing?"

"Where do you go at lunch?! Kankuro's sister Temari. She had a thing with Shikamaru last summer and now she's back, so Ino's freaking out, thinking he's going to ignore her again. _And_ Shikamaru already blew her off last Saturday to go see Temari's apartment!"

"What do you want me to do?"

She groaned again and buried her head in his shoulder. "You're hopeless."

Heat rose in his face, but he stepped away before it became obvious.

"Oh Sasuke, look." Sakura smiled and tilted her head. "It's snowing."

The raven-haired boy looked up. Something in his eyes warmed, but he brushed it of with a signature "Hn."

"I love snow," Hinata said softly.

"I don't." Ino shivered. "It's cold and wet and just blech."

Shikamaru stretched on the couch and scowled. "Me neither. My mom throws me outside every weekend to shovel it."

"But think of the snowball fights! Watch your back, asshole." Naruto grinned at Sasuke, who snorted indifferently. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"What about you Tenten?"

"It didn't snow where I lived."

"You're saying you've never seen snow."

"Never ever."

They stared at her with pity or shock (in Shikamaru's and Sasuke's case disinterest).

"What?" she laughed. "It's like I told you I don't know how to read or something."

"It's just…weird."

"Oh, that makes me feel better."

Ino stood on top of the couch. "Okay, I've decided! On Saturday, we're going sledding!"

**She decides things a lot, doesn't she?**

**-Haruno House-**

Sakura closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them. She stood in front of her mirror and preened. Ino had always done that with her when they were little, when her mother let them play with makeup. Ino had always made her feel pretty.

She smiled nervously at herself before she picked up her phone. It was old and pink with a long cord that she always managed to tangle herself in. She'd loved it as soon as she saw it at her old neighbor's garage sale.

She counted the numbers in her head as she pressed them, and put the receiver to her ear.

"Hello?"

Sakura's stomach nearly exploded with butterflies. "Sasuke?" she finally managed.

"No."

"…Is this a wrong number?"

"No."

"Well is he there?" She tried not to sound annoyed.

She heard footsteps on hardwood, then the creaking of a door.

"Hello?" The voice, _his_ voice, was annoyed and mildly curious. He didn't give out his home phone number to anyone (who wants spastic teenage girls calling and hanging up at all hours of the night?), and he was unlisted in the phonebook.

"Uh, hey."

"Who is this?"

**Well there goes my self esteem.**

"Sakura. Your lab-"

"I know."

**Stupid, stupid, stupid! **

"Well, that's actually the reason I called. We're kind of behind on the project, so I thought maybe we could finish it on Friday, after school?" She bit her lip and crossed her fingers.

"Okay."

**Chyeah! **

"Which house is better? Yours or-"

"No!" he said sharply. "My house is…your house would be good."

"Great! I guess my mom will pick us up at CanTeen, and we can go to my house from there?"

"Sure."

"Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Who was that? On the phone?"

"My brother. Itachi."

"Oh. I almost couldn't tell your voices apart."

"I have to go."

"Oh, okay! See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

She waited for the phone to click, then hopped on her bed and squealed. After a minute or so she got tangled in the sheets and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"Fine, Mom!"

**Oh God. How am I going to ask her?**

* * *

weird end point. meh. I feel this has been an abrupt and sloppy chapter. But I don't think I'm ever satisfied with meself. 

Oh well, Love you all (Yes, even you, favorite-and-or-alert-without-reviewing-ers. We all do it at least once.)!


	15. Chapter 15

**-Friday, 7:00 (Haruno House)-**

"Hello?"

"Is he there yet?!"

"No, Ino." Sakura finger-combed her hair again.

"And don't mess with your hair, you probably look fine."

She smiled. "Thanks." The doorbell rang and she nearly screamed. "That's him! I gotta go!"

"Okay, call me tomorrow!"

Sakura hung up and raced downstairs. "I got it!" she shrieked at her mom.

"Oh don't be silly, hon, I'll-"

"_Mom_!"

-

Ino glared at the phone angrily before slamming it down. She was suddenly pissed and upset and, so unbearably jealous. But she swallowed these feelings and went outside, to numb everything completely.

The cold air almost hurt to breathe in, and she could feel her freshly washed (and still wet) hair beginning to freeze. Despite that, it was nice. Very clear, like most winter nights. She had almost gotten herself in a good mood when she spotted a trail of smoke, wafting up from the Naras' rooftop.

**Shikamaru…**

She debated going up there. Why should she talk to him after he'd been either "too busy" or "too tired" for the past two weeks?

**Too busy my ass. He's only busy with one person, and it's **_**her**_

But she was also curious about why he was up there in the first place.

She sighed and walked over to the ladder on the side of the house. Damn curiosity.

"What are you doing?" she asked when she got up there.

Shikamaru leaned his head in the general direction of where a shovel was laying. "Shoveling."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course."

He raised an eyebrow at her sarcastic tone and rolled over. "Are you mad at me or something?"

"What?"

"It's just that I hardly see you anymore and when I do you're…" He rolled his cigarette between his lips, trying desperately to think of a more eloquent thing to say. But, as always, Ino got impatient.

"Will you just say it?"

"You're being a bitch."

"Well maybe if you weren't such an insensitive ass-"

He exhaled smoke into the sky. "Ah, so this is all my fault. It's always my fault, isn't it?"

"Yes! It _is_ always your fault, Shikamaru, because-" Ino slammed her fist against the roof, making a pile of snow slide off.

"Because what?"

"Forget it."

"Ino-"

"Drop it!" She went down the ladder as quickly as possible and back to her house. Shikamaru groaned. He knocked his head against the roof in frustration. Why couldn't anyone ever just say what they wanted from him?

When he opened his eyes she was there again. Before he could flinch she had plucked the cigarette from his mouth and thrown it into his backyard.

"Those'll kill you!" she snapped while stomping down.

"Not if you kill me first! I swear to God, it'll be one or the other!"

-

"Hello Sasuke."

"Hn."

"Hey Sport." The boyfriend grinned, but it soon slipped off when Sasuke gave him his best bone-chilling stare. Her mother hovered anxiously.

"Have you had dinner? We ordered pizza, and I made cookies-"

"I don't eat cookies."

Sakura shot her mother a look and went to the kitchen. Sasuke took two pieces and retreated with her to the basement.

"I'm really sorry. My mom's such a dork."

"She's better than your dad. Sport?"

"He's _not_ my dad. He's my mom's boyfriend." She scowled and ran a hand through her hair. "I forgot to get my pizza."

When she got to the kitchen, they stared at her.

"Sakura, I don't know if I like you being with this boy."

"Mom, he's just shy." She couldn't bite her tongue before she said, "Or he doesn't like you."

"I would have thought you'd go out with someone more…cheerful," her mother's boyfriend said mildly.

**You would.**

"We're not even going out! GOD!" She snatched a slice of pizza and stomped downstairs.

Sasuke gave her an odd look, but said nothing (as per usual). They got to work on the project so as to avoid awkward conversation.

Of course, it could have been a little less awkward if the two didn't hear a sudden thumping noise on the ceiling.

**Oh my God. They are **_**not**_**-**

Her mother cried out loudly and Sakura's face burned. Sasuke nearly choked on his soda.

"They can't seriously be…do they do this all the time?" he finally managed.

She nodded, her face bright pink. "Well, the project's done and I'm sufficiently humiliated. Is there anything else planned for tonight that I'm unaware of?"

"I don't think it's safe to leave you here right now. And I don't really feel like going home anyway."

"Oh…Okay. Do you want to, um, watch a movie?"

"Sure."

He picked a horror movie. It was one her dad must have left behind when he was packing his stuff. Her dad loved all kinds of scary movies, and Sakura would stay up late with him, watching them over and over. She always had nightmares, but she wasn't willing to give up the time spent with just her and him.

Just a stupid teen slasher flick; lots of hapless teens, even more blood. And still she found herself shaking when the killer came around the corner. Into the girl's room. To the bed she was hiding under.

She screamed with the girl in the movie as she was stabbed to death. Even Sasuke couldn't stand to watch. He fumbled with the remote but turned the TV off in time before she died.

"Thanks," she gasped, taking her head from the crook of his neck. "I'm such a wuss."

"To tell you the truth, I don't like those movies either."

"Then why did you pick it?"

"Just…trying to get over it I guess." He swallowed hard and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "You think they're asleep?"

Sakura listened and sighed in relief. Nothing. "Finally."

He glanced at the clock on the wall. "I should go."

"Do you need a ride?"

"From who? I'm sure your mom is…tired. I'll walk."

"But…it just feels wrong."

He smirked slightly as he packed up his messenger bag. "I promise, no one's going to jump me in this neighborhood."

She smiled back. They walked to the door together and she followed him outside.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?"

"You live back there."

"Right."

A smile quirked his lips when she still didn't move. Certain extremely wrong thoughts rushed through his head, which he promptly shook away.

"Good night, Sasuke."

He turned to leave, but stopped. Everything inside him was conflicting. Half wanted to leave, run even. But the other half…

_The other half…_

"Sakura-" He looked back and she was there. She kissed him softly and pulled away before he could respond. Her cheeks were stained a red so deep she may have been Hinata on a good day.

"I-" He cut her off by jamming his face into hers. Her back pressed against the front door of her house as she felt his tongue in her mouth. A warm feeling rushed through her and tingled in her fingertips, reminding her to use them. She felt his coarse black hair in and he made a small grunt of pleasure. He sucked her lip and she fisted his hair in surprise. He laughed into her mouth and brushed his fingers under her shirt, over her stomach.

"Mm!" she squeaked, and he let go. They stood, panting slightly. Sakura bit her now-swollen lip. "Um…"

But he had already retreated back into himself. There was only the slightest bit of color on his face and his hands were shoved in his pockets.

"Goodnight," he murmured.

"You should come sledding with us tomorrow!" she called before she could change her mind. Her head was still fuzzy, but the thought of seeing him again was of the utmost importance.

He paused. "I'll think about it."

"We'll be at the hill by two."

"Bye."

She hadn't wanted to ruin the moment with questions, but now that he was gone they were all she could think about. What did this _mean_? Were they going out now? Something told her it was never that easy, especially not with someone as complex as Sasuke. But if it didn't mean that, did it mean nothing? Well, it would always mean something to her, but he might not even think about it again. This was so confusing!

Sakura suddenly felt like crying. What if she really was nothing to him?

**If he comes sledding it meant something.**

_That's stupid! I can't base it off just that-_

**Why else would he come?**

She shook her head and went inside, then climbed the stairs to try sleeping.

* * *

That's all I got for now. I guess where this was a ShikaIno (sort of) and SasuSaku chapter, to even out that other one. :) 


	16. Chapter 16

-gasp-

ergh, you all have such good guesses to the scars, but I can't say anything because I want the plot to surprise everyone! Damn me and my webspinning:-X

* * *

**-Saturday, 1:47 a.m. (Sledding Hill)-**

"So?"

"So what?" Sakura rubbed the sleep out of her eye and looked at Ino.

"How did last night go?"

"…Fine," she said hesitantly. She had decided to keep what happened the night before to herself until she could make sense of it.

They sat at the top of the hill, waiting for everyone else to show up. Ino zipped her jacket higher and studied her high-heeled boots (which were actually pretty impractical since they would be climbing hills all day). Sakura fussed with her cotton candy-colored earmuffs and exhaled deeply. The girls smiled and pretended it was a cigarette. Ino's eyes dimmed for a moment; she knew Shikamaru wouldn't be coming, not after last night.

**Who needs him anyway?**

She perked up and hopped to her feet when she saw people coming.

"Hey!" Tenten grinned from between Hinata and Neji. "We're here…Now what?"

"We sled!" Naruto held up a disc and promptly leapt over the edge with it. "Come on!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Naruto, look out!"

"Neh?" He hit a bump and went flying through the air. Until he hit the ground, face first. Hinata gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth as he got up, shook the snow out of his hair, (his skullcap had come off somewhere between the top and base of the hill) and whooped energetically. "That was wicked awesome! Come on you guys, hurry up!"

Sakura grinned and followed, Ino right behind her.

A two-person toboggan and a disc were left, sitting idly next to them. Hinata took the disc and went down before the other two could protest.

"Uh, Neji?" Tenten nodded at the sled. He sighed with slight exasperation, but sat.

**Only for you, **he thought dryly. She took the seat behind him, and slipped her arms around his waist. A flipping sensation was felt in the spot where she rested her hands. "Okay," she said in his ear.

Tenten yelped when they hit the same bump Naruto did. She hugged Neji for dear life, but it was no good. They capsized and rolled the rest of the way down. The girls ran over while Naruto laughed. Tenten seemed to have his sense of humor, since she was giggling drunkenly.

"Let's go again!"

**-3 hours later-**

"Hey Hinata! I wanna try something. Help me out?"

"…Okay."

Naruto held up two discs and handed one to her. When they sat he instructed her, "Now hold my hands." She obeyed and smiled shyly at him. His eyes glowed in excitement and he kicked-started the two of them down. "Don't let go!" he yelled. She screamed from the adrenaline rush and he laughed just as loud.

"Aim for the bump!"

"What?! But-"

"I want to fly!"

"Naruto, you're insane!" Sakura shouted from the top. Sasuke (who had arrived a half hour later than everyone else) just shook his head.

Hinata closed her eyes as they hit, and they were weightless, suspended in midair. If only for a moment. She looked at his childish grin that was directed at her more and more often every day and felt...happy.

She wished she could think of a more descriptive, more decisive feeling. Happiness seemed like too simple a word. But Naruto himself was simple, and he had a way of getting under people's skin.

They landed heavily in a snow bank and she giggled, teeth chattering loudly. Naruto gave her a hand and pulled her up.

"Aren't you cold?" Sakura asked Tenten anxiously.

The brunette waved her off. "I'm fine."

"You're blue." Neji raised an eyebrow at her chapped lips.

"And you're not even wearing full gloves!" Ino tsked in a way her mother would be proud of.

"W-would you guys relax? I'm just n-n-not used to this weather." Her voice wavered, and a shudder wracked her frame. "I'll be _fine._"

"I think I'm ready to go home," Ino said decisively. "Sakura, do you need a ride?"

"Um-" Her eyes darted to Sasuke for a second. "…no? I think I'll walk."

"Seriously?"

"He's staying the whole weekend."

"Oh." She wrinkled her nose. "Well if you need a break come to my house."

"Kay…I might stop somewhere for coffee."

Ino waved and bounced off down the hill, passing Naruto and Hinata as they came up. They were flushed and out of breath, but Hinata's eyes shone.

"We're going home," Neji informed his cousin, and she nodded. "…You can come," he said hesitantly to Naruto, who looked ready to ask anyway.

"Cool."

"T-Tenten? Are you coming t-too?" Hinata asked.

"Sure."

-

"I can't believe you didn't say anything," Neji said sternly. The two of them sat in the basement with the TV on in the background. Naruto had insisted on making a snow fort in the backyard, and Hinata was "up for anything".

"You have a fever."

"It's no big deal." She sipped her hot chocolate and smiled. "This is good." Then she spun on the barstool until she fell off, giggling.

"Are you delirious?"

"Maybe a little."

He sighed and pulled her up. Her skin was cold on his hands as he took her to the couch. "Take off your socks," he told her.

Tenten laughed. "That's a new one."

Neji rolled his eyes. By now he was almost immune to her suggestiveness to everything. "They're wet. We'll put everything in the dryer."

"Uh…"

"What?" He turned back to her.

"What about my jeans?"

"Oh. Ask Hinata for clothes."

"Uh…"

"_What_?"

"They won't fit me!" she said defensively. "I'm at least a foot taller than her! Besides, my hips are wider."

"Then I'll get you some of mine. Wait down here."

-

Tenten rolled up the legs of Neji's sweatpants and smiled. His waist was narrow for a boy.

"What are you doing?" he asked when she pulled her T-shirt over her head.

She sneezed again. "My shirt's wet. And relax, I'm wearing something under it." She turned to let him see her navy spaghetti-strap top. It clung to her so it wouldn't ride up her stomach, and he found he was having trouble swallowing. Maybe he was catching Tenten's cold.

"Come on then." He took her shirt and the rest of her things so he could throw them into the laundry room. Someone would take care of them within the hour.

"Thank you," she said sleepily, then curled up on the couch. He joined her to think. Well, that was what he said when asked about it. The nicest thing about sitting quietly was that you didn't have to think at all. No one was there to demand your attention or conversation.

By the next hour Tenten had fallen asleep, but pounding footsteps on the floor above them interrupted him anyway. Neji started and growled, "Naruto." He checked to see if Tenten had stirred, but she only whimpered fitfully. He noticed now that a sheen of sweat covered her skin. "Tenten," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

"OI! NEJI! TENTEN!" Naruto flew down the stairs, wearing only a T-shirt and athletic shorts, and slid, on his knees, to the spot in front of the couch. "Ruuuuug Buuuuurn!" he wailed, biting his lip. (1)

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose as Tenten's eyes opened. "Naruto…"

"But come check out our igloo! It's awesome! It's got a window and tunnels and-"

Hinata came down the stairs at a normal pace, her father right behind her.

"Tenten." He nodded, and she did the same, more or less hiding behind Neji.

**Great. The first time I meet him I'm white trash. Now I'm **_**still**_** white trash and wearing Neji's pants!**

"Hi Mr. Hyuuga."

"Naruto," he said with a slight dislike. The blonde just stared at him, obviously trying to convey a defiant image. But it just made him look like a punkass.

"Will you be staying the night, Tenten?"

"…Is it okay?"

At the same time Hinata squeaked, "Yes." She looked at Neji with pleading, puppy eyes. He glared at her sulkily, but she held her gaze.

"Uncle."

"Yes, Neji?"

"May Naruto stay also? He's a…" He paused and shot Hinata a "look what you're making me do" look, then said, "_Friend_ of mine."

Hiashi regarded him warily, but consented. Tenten burst into giggles when he was up the stairs.

"What?"

"You realize how gay you just sounded."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's my…_friend_."

"Shut up."

-

Dinner passed by in a tense, awkward blur. Tenten learned the extent of Naruto's charm (or lack thereof) when it came to adults, especially parents. She also learned that milk was not a good choice when your stomach is upset. After she had quietly excused herself, puked, and came back down, she caught Neji studying her pale face.

_I'm fine_, she mouthed. He looked skeptical, but said nothing until it was finally over and Hiashi had gone to his office.

"Go lie down."

"Neji, I-"

"You're sick. You're only making it worse by being stubborn."

"You're making it worse by being an asshole," she pouted. She knew he knew she wasn't serious.

He sighed and started toward her.

"Neji," she said warningly, backing herself into a corner, "Don't-ah!" Tenten was flipped over his shoulder and carried without a word down the stairs. "Damnit Neji, just because I can jump on you doesn't mean you can throw me up whenever you want!"

Speaking of throwing up, her stomach was starting to clench again.

"Put me down!" He dropped her unceremoniously on the couch. Naruto and Hinata, who had been watching from a safe distance, deemed it clear enough to join them.

"Do you w-want anything, Tenten?" Hinata asked.

"No, don't even worry, Hinata. Neji's just overreacting." She shook off the nausea and annoyance so she could play with a loose end of his hair. She twirled it around her finger and smiled at his flustered twitch. "See?"

"So what, is he your boyfriend?"

**Throw up, now. **

"…"

"…"

"…I'm sorry what?" Tenten tilted her head at the blonde, whose sky-blue eyes stared back at her innocently.

"Are you going out?"

"No," Neji said with finality.

An awkward silence stretched before them.

**If only there were some horrific, possibly chunky distraction to take attention away from this! **

**Oh wait!**

She nearly smacked herself for the ridiculous idea. But as the silence went on, it was becoming slightly more appealing.

"Who is that?" Tenten whispered. A woman was coming down the stairs with a basket against her hip.

"H-Hotaru. Our…maid."

"You have a maid?!" Naruto's jaw dropped. "But…you don't even make a mess! Why would you need one?"

"Father w-works all day…"

"But still!"

"Hey." Tenten waved to the woman as she got closer. "I'm Tenten."

"…Hotaru." She eyed them all sourly. "Neji. Mr. Hyuuga says that you and your "friend" should be getting to bed." Tenten elbowed him. He flicked her arm in response. "You girls too."

They trudged up the basement stairs, and the main staircase, down the hall and stopped.

"Well goodnight." Tenten winked and held up a finger. Neji gave the slightest of nods and dragged Naruto into his room.

"But I didn't think we were _really_ gonna sleep-" he whined.

Hinata shook her head and Tenten put an arm around her. "Well he's cute, right?"

**-1:00 AM (Neji's Room)-**

"Neji, your room is _small_!" Naruto whispered loudly.

"That's because it's a guest bedroom." He ground his teeth and sighed. A light knock on his door brought him out of his frustration and he went to answer it.

"If you do that your forehead will wrinkle." Tenten smoothed his face with a trembling hand and sat on his bed. Hinata beckoned Naruto out of Neji's room to hers.

"No teddy bear sheets?" She looked at the plain navy blankets with a smile. Naruto was right; the room was even smaller than Hinata's. The bed took up most of the space. He had only a closet and a nightstand for his laptop, and one window that she could see the moon out of.

"They're in the wash," he replied dryly. She laughed and picked at herself. Neji took her hand and gently brought it away from her shirt. His eyes stared back at her seriously. "Don't."

He wasn't sure when they fell asleep. It just seemed that the two of them appeared under his comforter, tired and warm. She clutched his shirt, and his fingers tangled in her hair possessively, hugging her head to his chest.

* * *

(1) If one cannot guess, this authoress has recently had a run-in with this frictiony fibery little biotch known as my best friend's basement carpet. (It shouldn't be there! It's a BASEMENT! JUST LEAVE THE CONCRETE FLOORS IN, GODDAMNIT!) 

…hehe. Lucky we had the foresight to slap a T on this little story of mine, huh? d--b (thumbs up)

Yeah, this chapter is laaaate. I meant it to be out before Christmas, but I was genuinely stuck on the plot. This chapter could have been so angsty if I hadn't started watching Host Club. (First-timer here! It makes me fizz over with fangirly-ness:D)

ANYWAY, I have pretty much nothing planned for next chaptah. So tell me what you want, ne? The pairings are ricocheting off my head with undecidedness, and I seriously turned myself down in writing some non-NejiTen fluff because I thought it would make you impatient with me. So…yeah! TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED, BECAUSE ALL I NEED IS TO STOP BEING OBNOXIOUS WITH THE CAPS LOCK AND GET OVER THE AUTHOR'S NOTE THAT YOU MAY NOT EVEN READ ANYWAY. :D

And you did it! You gave me more than 100 reviews! I could cry! In the words of a friend of mine:

"I love all of you. If I could, I would give you all a personal hug, but we don't have time for that now."

So a belated Happy New Year and have fun going back to school! Cause I know I will (dies inside).


	17. Chapter 17

Midterms

must

DIE.

That is all.

Enjoy.

* * *

Neji woke with a start. 

**Such a weird dream.**

What time was it?

He glanced blearily at his alarm clock and grimaced. 8:00. He'd slept in.

Tenten! His eyesight cleared, but he found no trace of the brunette but a shakily-written note on his bedside table.

_Neji, I'm sorry, but I have to go home. I don't feel good at all. Please don't be upset. I'll see you at school.  
-1010_

He sighed and changed.

**Such a disturbing dream.**

To think he would imagine something like that about her.

But it had felt so good.

Perhaps that was the most disturbing part.

He shook his head and went downstairs.

Naruto and Hinata were already up, watching cartoons with Hanabi.

Well, sort of.

"This is stupid." Hanabi threw him a Neji-esque eyebrow raising and Naruto scowled.

"Are you kidding? Looney Tunes are what this country was built on! This is history you're watching, so pay atten- Hey Neji."

The Hyuuga boy nodded and sat down. "Where is Hiashi?"

"He…he already went to work." Hinata looked up from her cereal. "Where's Tenten?"

He held up the note and she bit her nails fretfully when she was finished reading. "I hope she's okay."

"She'll be fine," he said with irritation.

**This is wrong.**

Tenten picked at herself furiously.

Why did you have to do something like _that_? 

-CHEAP FLASHBACK INDENTATION-

She had finished writing the note with one of his pens. Her fingers trembled horribly as she pressed it to the side table.

He had looked so peaceful…

Before she could change her mind, she kissed him. He was gentle, clumsy, but that was to be expected. He was still asleep. When she lifted her mouth from his, he laid his head back on the pillow; eyes closed, lips curved up.

The memory made her stomach clench with guilt.

-

He always seemed to be smirking.

"Oy." He was propped against the doorway of the apartment, as if he'd been expecting her.

"Hi." Tenten played with her hands, fidgeting anxiously. "I…I need-"

He leaned down and kissed her roughly.

_**Not**_** like Neji,** she thought to herself, but she pushed the thought away and shoved her tongue through his lips. He smirked and put her legs around his waist, then carried her inside to sit her on a countertop.

**Whore.**

His mouth found its way to her ear and she gasped.

"Kankur-oh my God!"

She had just taken full notice of her surroundings at the present moment, which included a stove, a frying pan, five eggs and one shirtless Shikamaru.

"Kankuro, knock it off!" Tenten forced him off and gaped at the boy next to her. He ran a hand through his loose dark hair, which was out of its normal ponytail.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she asked incredulously.

"I think the same thing you are." He took a spatula out of a drawer as if he'd grown up in this apartment and messed with the eggs. Honestly, short of a well-aimed punch to the head nothing seemed to faze this guy.

"What do you-?" But before she had time to jump to conclusions, Temari came striding down the hall, wearing Shikamaru's T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Y'know, that makes you a pedophile in a technical and very legal sense," Kankuro said with a grimace.

"Fuck off," she replied and kissed Shikamaru on the neck. When she saw Tenten she tensed. "Oh. Hey."

Tenten slid off the counter and nodded.

"They done yet?" Temari asked.

"In a minute." Shikamaru pushed her hand away. He watched Kankuro lead Tenten away, most likely to his room. "So what's that about?"

Temari made a face and sat. "They're on-again off-again. I'm assuming it's on right now."

"Huh." He dished the eggs out and lit a cigarette. She grabbed it from him and his temper flared for a moment, but she just took a drag and handed it back. He felt almost guilty when he breathed it in a second time. If Ino were there he wouldn't have made it past flicking his lighter down.

"What?" She was studying him with curiosity.

He stood. "I have to go."

"Fine." Temari watched him leave without another word and sighed. "Him and his moods."

**-Monday-**

"Tenten!" Hinata ran to meet her and smiled shyly. Neji took his time getting to her with practiced ease.

"Are you, um…feeling better?" She poked her fingers together.

Tenten gave her a tired smile. "Not really, but I missed you guys." Ino and Sakura had caught up and tackle-hugged her.

"How was the sleepover?" Ino asked with a grin.

"How'd you know?"

"I know things." She still held her grin.

"You're kinda creeping me out." Tenten tilted her head.

Sakura pushed her way in. "Forget her, what did you do?"

"Nothing, just hung out in his room."

They exchanged smiles and she groaned. "Nothing happened, freaks. I just…sort of…"

She felt a presence and turned slowly. "Hiii," she said childishly. Neji did his quirky smile for her and it disappeared just as quickly as it had come behind a disapproving frown.

"You don't look good."

"Thanks Neji, my self-esteem is doing great too." She stuck her tongue out at him and coughed.

"Tenten."

"Missing school won't help anything. I'll sleep at CanTeen, kay?"

He sighed. "Alright. Come with me to my locker." He turned to go. When he looked back she'd already taken his hand and started running in that direction.

Ino clicked her tongue affectionately at the fading pair. "Crazy girl. So, what have you two been doing? Sakura?"

"What?" She twirled her hair on her finger and pulled it.

"How was the walk home with _Sasuke_?"

"We stopped at Starbucks."

And made out in the bathroom… 

"He had coffee and I got hot chocolate."

-can't believe I licked the whipped cream like that! 

"Did he walk you home?"

"We split up when we got to my neighborhood." She bit her lip. She hadn't had the courage to ask him about…them. It was like he was bipolar; hot one second and cold the next.

Ino studied her. There was something she wasn't talking about, but that was okay. She would get her alone later and break her spirit.

"Hinata?"

"Naruto's teaching me to skateboard. He says I'm a fast learner. I can do a kickflip now." She beamed.

"That's so cute!" Ino put an arm around the both of them and they walked down the hall.

**-1****st**** Period (Earth Science)-**

"Hey."

"What?" Tenten glanced at her lab partner, supporting her head on her palm.

"What did you sort of do Saturday?"

They leaned their heads together while Kakashi sent Sakura to get copies of their assignment.

"It's so creepy." Tenten rubbed her eye. "I…I kinda kissed him?"

"How's that creepy, it's awesome!"

"He was asleep."

"Oh. Well that's weird."

"I don't think he even knows. He didn't wake up."

"Eh. It's not like you raped him or anything." Ino shrugged and watched Sasuke leave for the bathroom. "Are you seeing what I see?"

"What?"

"She leaves, he leaves?"

"Follow?"

"Follow." They got up slowly and edged their way to the door.

"Ah, girls?" Kakashi looked at them with mild interest. "What are you doing?"

"Bathroom?" they said in unison.

"I know you do that…pairs thing, but I can't let more than one person out of class at a time to the same place. They're wily, those administrators. Don't be discouraged, you'll beat them someday."

Tenten gave Ino a look and she nodded.

**He is so weird.**

-

Sakura hummed quietly to herself as she climbed the stairs.

_Like vines we intertwined_

_Carelessly growing up and growing old_

_Life was on our tongues_

_It tasted heavenly, so good…_(1)

Hands wrapped around her arm and pulled her to the second floor landing. Lips were pressed firmly against hers and she closed her eyes to the lightheaded rush of feeling. She let go of the things she was holding onto, papers fluttering down the stairs.

"Um, Sasuke," she mumbled when he let her go, "what is this?"

"What's what?"

"_This_." She gestured around them spastically and widened her eyes. Sasuke bit back a smirk at her helplessness. "Are we going out or friends with benefits? Just benefits? It's stressing me out! I don't want to just be hanging off you if we aren't really together. I mean, even if we were going out I wouldn't expect you to show it because I know you don't like that sort of thing, but I-"

He kissed her to silence her. She blushed and ran a hand through her hair. "But I do like this," she murmured.

"Let's keep this simple. I can't have complications."

"I know."

"So when we're together, we'll be together."

"Are we exclusive?"

"Do you have appointments to make or something?"

"No!" She blushed again. "I just want to know if you want to see someone else."

"Not really."

Sakura hid her relief. "In public?"

"I'd rather not."

"Okay." She smiled and ran a hand up his neck. "I think Kakashi might want the packets." They looked at the papers strewn along the stairwell.

"Guess we'd better hurry then." He grinned devilishly at her.

* * *

Ooh, I'm such a killjoy. This is the last chapter to guess where Tenten's scars are from! Tell me your prediction and I'll get the next one out ASAP. I have most of it done, but now I've probably jinxed it and the writer's block demons will eat my soul. 

Have a lovely day!


	18. Chapter 18

Hiya. It's finally here!

May your expectations be lowered:)

I forgot to put this in last chapter for (1).

Yeah…If anyone cares, those are lyrics to the song We Intertwined, by the Hush Sound. Very good band, look 'em up if you don't know their stuff. (I recommend Wine Red and Sweet Tangerine)

And a happy belated birthday to Tenten!

* * *

**-CanTeen-**

"So." Ino sat down across from Shikamaru. "I hear you bailed on Choji yesterday."

He scowled and put in one of his iPod ear buds. "He said he was okay with it."

"He always says it's okay."

"Don't make a big deal out of it, Ino."

"You never turn Choji down," she mumbled bitterly.

**Never used to.**

He looked away and glared at a spot on the wall. "He's fine. Let it go."

Ino gulped her water.

"Is that all you're having?" he asked carefully. "You skipped lunch."

"Not hungry," she snapped.

"Well I'm starving!" Kiba sat down next to Shikamaru, Choji on the other side. He fed Akamaru a piece of his cookie and grinned. Choji watched in horror.

"What a waste," he sighed.

-

Tenten smiled. She was having a nice dream. She didn't know where she was, exactly, but it was quiet and warm. It smelled nice too; like soap and clean clothes.

She rolled over, and landed abruptly on the floor.

"Ow." She laughed and reached out to Neji. He got off the couch and pulled her up. Her head rushed slightly at the realization that she was dreaming about his smell.

She sat down, lowered her head and clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry I left."

"It's fine; you were sick."

"I'm pretty sure I made it worse, actually." She leaned away from him as they sat. "I'm gonna go for a walk."

"Do you want me to come?" He nearly cringed at how pathetic he sounded. Why was he being so weak, so…clingy?

Tenten squeezed his arm and got up. "That's okay. I need to be alone."

He nodded.

She bit her lip and looked back, but then she was gone. Neji sighed and laid back. He felt an inexplicable unpleasantness sweep over him and he frowned.

Kankuro snorted quietly across the room as he glanced at him.

Neji immediately felt the defensiveness rise up in him. "What?" he spat.

"Nothing." The older boy chuckled. "I just never thought Tenten would go for a guy like you."

"It's funny. I was thinking the same thing about you. Besides, you're misinformed. She doesn't "go" for me."

"You sure? From what I can see she's all over you. Just like she used to be with..." He didn't finish. He didn't have to.

Neji didn't look up, but his jaw clenched. Kankuro smirked.

"Just saying, be careful. If you get attached she'll use you."

"Tenten doesn't use anyone."

He laughed and pulled out a lighter. "She uses anything she can get her hands on."

"You're a liar and an asshole. Go away." Neji fixed his gaze on the older boy as he lit a cigarette and laughed.

"Trust me. She's too fucked up to get help anymore."

In a second Neji had jumped up and slammed him against a wall, despite the fact that he was shorter. Everyone stared in surprise.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

Kankuro shoved him back. "Get off me! And what're you talking about?"

"Tenten!"

"I didn't do shit to her! Everything I did she asked for!"

"She asked you to mutilate her?!"

His face changed from belligerent anger to dark amusement. He laughed and lit a new cigarette. "Oh. That."

"Yeah, that!"

"She did that to herself."

Neji felt his heart slow its pounding. "What?"

"Ever heard of Trich? Formication?" (2)

"No." He glared at him.

"They're withdrawal symptoms for meth. Gaara had Trich. He met Tenten in rehab. Their cases were…extreme."

"She wouldn't do that."

"How much do you even know about her?" He gave him a pitying glance. "Look." He dug around in his pockets for a minute before taking out a photo.

Gaara was in the foreground, staring into space to the side of the camera. But in the background Neji could make out a few people sitting against a wall.

"See? That's her." He pointed to an underfed little girl hugging her knees. He almost didn't recognize her with her hair short and spiked in a pixie cut. She wore only jeans and a cami, and she was crying; her eyes ringed with red. She picked at a scratch across her hip, making it bleed.

**No. **

**That thing isn't Tenten.**

He shoved the picture back at him.

"She's not like that anymore." The words sounded hollow, even to him.

"She was out of control then and she's out of it now. I should know. I'm her dealer."

Neji punched him in the face.

"You're making it worse!" he shouted. Three pairs of arms held him from tearing Kankuro apart. "Why the fuck would you do that?! Do you even care about her?!"

"Don't do it here, man," Kiba whispered.

"D'you know how much trouble the CanTeen will be in?" Shikamaru murmured.

Naruto looked at him pitifully. "We'll have nowhere to go."

Kankuro picked himself up, getting no help from his little brother. He sat watching from Naruto's side of the room. "You wanna know why?" He wiped his bleeding nose and blew smoke in Neji's face. "She gives really good head."

He was suddenly free and on top of Kankuro, beating him senseless. Of course he was thrown off in a matter of minutes, but he didn't stop fighting for a second. He was all rage.

"Damn. How did all of our hands slip?" Kiba mumbled, not daring to smirk in such a situation.

"Slipped." Shikamaru shrugged and pocketed Kankuro's lighter.

"Oh _shit_!" Naruto pointed to the door, where Tenten was coming in. "This is gonna be good."

Shikamaru slapped the back of his head. "Shut up."

Her eyes widened. "Hey!" she screamed. They looked up and pulled apart from each other, as if they could make it look like they hadn't been fighting. "The hell is wrong with you two?! I leave for five fucking minutes and you can't even handle that?!"

"Tenten."

She paused her rant to look at Neji. He had a black eye (irony) and some bruises that would show up nicely in a few days, but he was far from beaten. "Tell me…"

"What?"

"Tell me you didn't."

She paled.

"Tell me you didn't…do that to yourself."

Tenten clenched her hands into fists. "You…" she choked out tremblingly, "You…told?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Someone had to. I'm sick of this shit." He walked out the door, leaving her shaking and hugging herself tightly.

"Tenten."

She ran, out through the back and down the street.

"Tenten!" Lee called desperately. "Come back!" He watched her for a second before going to Neji. "You have to go get her!"

Neji sat and rubbed his eye. "Why do you think I care?"

He felt himself being picked up by the collar. "I know that you care," Lee said, more seriously than Neji thought he could be.

They stared each other down until he pushed the boy off him and stalked outside. It was starting to snow. Everything was muted and soft; completely inappropriate under the circumstances.

Why should he care? She was just some girl he'd met a few months ago. He barely knew her, apparently.

His stomach turned.

He'd thought he knew her.

But he'd never really been good at knowing people, so how could he have told the difference?

-

**Did you really think he wouldn't find out?**

Her legs were numb from running. It was a good thing they were, or it would've felt worse when she'd skinned her knees on the sidewalk. She hardly felt the snow falling over her, either, as she leaned against a brick wall.

And his eyes. Oh God, his eyes. Cold, unwavering disgust. She felt dirty and weak, and if she knew anything about him, weakness was a characteristic he hated most in a person. She had gotten used to hating herself a long time ago, but if he did too…

"Hey. Hey kid."

Tenten looked up and wiped her face. A tall, wide-shouldered man stood in the doorway.

"You…okay?"

"Not really."

He ran a hand through his white hair awkwardly. "Look, I'd invite you in, but this place isn't really, ah…kid friendly."

She glanced at the store and half-smiled. It was an "adult literature" shop. "S'okay," she sniffled. "I'll be gone soon."

"Alright."

-

A light dusting of snow had covered her body by the time Neji found her. His chest tightened when he saw her eyes were closed. Snowflakes fluttered off her eyelids when he touched her arm.

"Get up," he said quietly. She did the best she could with her numb legs and heavy head. He wasn't about to pick her up, but he wrapped an arm around her waist for support.

He glanced at her pale face and flushed cheeks, and felt a line of blood seep onto his hand through her shirt.

"What did you do?" he murmured as they walked.

Tears fell hotly from the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

His jaw rippled to keep him from saying anything. Emotional breakdowns weren't something he could even acknowledge in himself, much less other people. In a normal situation, the most he would do is look away from such embarrassing, public vulnerability.

He realized she understood that, because she was leaning as far away from him as possible, trying to walk on her own.

"Just-" Neji put her arm over his shoulders- "Let me."

He walked all the way back to his house, where Hinata was waiting anxiously. She helped her up the stairs to Neji's room and went through his drawers for dry clothes.

"Thank you," Tenten managed.

"I'm j-just glad that my dad is away this week." She smiled nervously and watched the brunette collapse on the bed, Neji's oversized sweatshirt covering down to her thighs.

-

When she woke it was pitch-black outside, and the covers of his bed were pulled over her. Her stomach and leg was wrapped in gauze and what felt like duct tape held it in place. Tenten sat up and slid her legs off the bed. Her foot hit something warm and soft, and a grunt made her jump.

"Jesus, Neji! What…why are you on the floor?" she whispered at Neji, who sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I can't sleep with you in my bed," he said crossly.

"You did before."

"That was an accident."

"Oh. Right." She stepped over him and went for the door. "Sorry for taking your bed."

"Tenten."

His tone made her look back.

"I'm not…mad at you."

"I should go-" She was cut off when he pulled her to him. White eyes washed with silver stared into her intensely, confirming that she wouldn't leave when he kissed her.

It was just as gentle as the first time, but more overwhelming. She sank against him and felt the bridge of her nose heat up. Tears weren't far behind. He combed his fingers through her hair and sat, afraid to make her more upset.

"Stay," he whispered.

She hesitated, but wrapped her arms around him, reaching up his back. She was safe. If only for a moment.

* * *

I know no one guessed it in a review, so I hope you're not disappointed! I went all indie-movie on it, ne?

(1)

Formication: "an abnormal skin sensation similar to that of insects crawling over or within the skin. The cause of formication may be a physical or psychological side effect of substance abuse. People suffering from formication may scratch themselves to the extent of serious skin damage and bleeding, especially if they are delirious or intoxicated."

Trich (or Trichotillomania): "an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair, resulting in noticeable bald patches. An additional psychological side effect can be low self-esteem, often associated with being shunned by peers…"

All above information was taken from Wikipedia.

The idea to use these disorders in my story was inspired by this video.

h t t p / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v f Y 1 P l 1 z G o w c

(The idea for Tenten is at 0:24)

And this one, for Gaara. Please note that this one is more disturbing than the first video.

H t t p / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v m a A 9 q w p 1 a R o & f e a t u r e r e l a t e d

**imissmycupcake** does not condone the use of drugs, in any way.

(Except caffeine)


	19. Chapter 19

"Tenten."

She shifted over and made a sleepy, unwilling-to-get-up noise. Neji sighed and prodded her arm.

"Wake up. It's time for school."

"School?" Her eyes opened slightly. Neji stood by the side of the bed, already dressed.

"It's Tuesday."

"Shit." Tenten yawned and got out of bed, rolling her neck and shoulders. Various pops and cracks were the half-satisfying and half-painful result. Her body ached everywhere. "What time is it? What do I wear?" She fumbled with her hair tie, trying to fix her buns.

"It's 6:00. You have time to shower. I suppose you'll have to borrow from Hinata."

"Fantastic," she yawned. "I'll be out in a minute." She went down the hall and jumped in the bath. Her knee stung and her stomach burned, but the hot water felt good on her hair. She wondered idly which shampoo was Neji's as she looked at all the products.

Tenten wrapped herself in a towel and stepped outside. Hinata, who was waiting outside, averted her eyes shyly and held out an outfit.

"Good morning."

"Hi. Thanks a lot for this."

"I'm sorry it's too sma-"

"Thanks for letting me borrow it." She took it with a smile and Hinata returned it, nodding happily.

-

It was too small. The button of Hinata's jeans dug into her stomach uncomfortably, and the shirt ended at her ribs so her scars showed. She closed her eyes and traced over it with her fingertips. Her skin itched for a needle, body ached for release, and she felt an acute frustration because she couldn't have either.

"Do you need me to wrap it again?"

Tenten whipped around and swallowed. "Uh-huh." Her voice was strained. Neji took the gauze and started on her. She tensed when his fingers brushed against her side.

"I can't do this," she muttered. "I can't go to school like this."

"There's nothing else to do." He rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a white button-up shirt. "Here."

She rolled the sleeves to her elbows and tried to do the buttons, but she was shaking too much. She was about to cry from sheer helplessness, but then he was there, quietly fixing her. Tenten leaned back. It felt a little backwards to have a boy dressing her, but not completely unpleasant. When he finished he went for the door, her hand loosely holding his.

"Hinata made breakfast." He didn't need to look back.

-

"Hinata!" Naruto waved and grinned when he got on the bus. He fell into the seat next to her. "Hey Neji…and Tenten. What're you doing here?"

"I crashed here for the night."

"Nice, Neji!" He held up a hand, for a high-five, Neji supposed, and he met it with a cold stare.

"N-Naruto!" Hinata gasped, a scandalized blush staining her cheeks.

"Don't be stupid." Tenten fingered the French braid Hinata had put her hair in. She hadn't known how to do buns, and Tenten didn't care enough. "I slept with Hinata," she lied easily.

He tilted his head and smiled. "…Better."

The brunette punched him in the head.

**- 1st Period (Earth Science)-**

"What happened last night?!" Ino practically jumped her when she came through the door.

"Nothing, it's fine!" Tenten held up her hands in defense. They hopped onto the counter and faced each other.

"I can't believe I missed the whole thing. I would've gone after you if I'd known!" She looked genuinely upset, and then it switched to anxiousness. "And you wouldn't believe the rumors going around."

"They're probably all true."

"No, they're horrible."

"If they have to do with drugs or me being a slut, then they're probably true." She could feel a migraine coming on.

"But that's…not you. We know you."

"You don't know what I used to do."

"Well I guess I know now. And I don't care."

Tenten looked up in surprise. Tired blue eyes stared at her earnestly.

"We're friends." She glanced around in annoyance and hitched up her jeans. "And Sakura would back me up if she was here."

They waited until the flustered, pink-haired girl came stumbling through the door.

Ino raised an eyebrow at her. "Little behind this morning?"

"Ah, yeah." She blew a strand of flyaway pink hair and scowled. "Not like you're at your best either."

She was right. Ino looked utterly exhausted, almost sickly.

"I'm fine," she snapped, sucking in her chapped lips. "Are you going to fix that?"

Sakura noticed that the collar of her shirt was up, just below her chin. "Nah."

"Sakura Haruno. I cannot be seen with you if you walk around with a popped collar." The blonde leaned over to fix it and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, steeling herself.

"Oh my God."

"What?" Tenten leaned in for a look.

"You _skank_!" Ino yelled playfully. A cluster of fresh-looking hickeys covered a good part of her neck.

"Who mauled you?"

Sakura turned a heated pink. "No one!"

"_Who_?"

"_No one_!"

"It's Sasuke, isn't it?"

"Tch! He'll hear you," she hissed pleadingly as he slipped past them. His eyes flicked toward them in what could've been interpreted as a greeting.

"If he's going to leave those on you he obviously doesn't care about keeping up appearances."

"Did you even consider that maybe he isn't the one?"

"So it isn't Sasuke?" Tenten asked, rubbing her eye. She was only half-following the conversation in the first place, and her headache wasn't improving with high-pitched chattering in her ear.

Sakura groaned. "That's not the point-"

"So it is!" Ino cried. Her face was conflicted and strange-looking, like she was dizzy or overwhelmed or going to be sick.

"Are you mad?"

The blonde seemed to finally decide on an emotion and slipped into a tired smile. She shrugged and rubbed her arms. "I guess not. We're a little old to be playing those games now, don't you think?"

"Right," Sakura sighed with relief. She glanced back at him and grinned shyly, while he pretended not to notice.

**-Lunch-**

Ino yanked her belt loops up around her waist, leaning against a bank of green lockers.

She had an odd feeling of displacement, as if her body and her mind were two separate things, and her body sat quietly while her mind was compressed from all sides.

She slid down until she hit the floor and tilted her head back.

Sharp, hazel eyes stared into hers.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru was resting his forehead against the locker above her. He scrutinized her and frowned at what he saw.

She stood up suddenly, barely giving him time to back up. "Nothing. What are you doing here?"

"This is my locker. I'm getting my lunch."

"Oh." She watched him rummage through the chaotic mess that was his locker and found herself frowning sternly. "You should clean it out more often."

"Yeah yeah." He slammed it shut and turned to her. They stood there for a minute without doing anything until his question just fell out of his mouth.

"Why are you doing this again?"

"What?"

"Don't give me that, Ino." He ran his thumb down the side of her shirt, feeling her ribs poking him. "You're disappearing again, just like in summer."

She slapped his hand away. "You're the one who's disappearing," she mumbled.

He groaned; irritation evident in his voice. "What are you talking about, I'm right here!"

"How do you survive being so smart and so clueless all at once?"

"I dunno, why do you never give me a straight answer?"

"Because I want you to figure it out on your own!"

"Well I can't! You're too goddamn complicated!" He kicked a dent in the locker and she yelped in surprise. "You get upset when I don't talk to you but whenever I do we fight, and sometimes, most of the time actually, I wonder if you even like me at all. You're controlling and annoying and you care way too much about every little thing, and you're smart enough to know that it only makes everything worse when you do this to yourself but you do it anyway!"

"Well how would you notice me otherwise? You've got your head so far up your ass you don't see anything but her!"

Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows. "…This is about Temari."

She wiped her eyes and let out a hiccup that was maybe a laugh. "It was _always_ about Temari, you jackass."

"Shit." He pulled her to him. It made his eyes burn to know that he could probably fit his arms around her twice. "How could you be jealous of her?"

She buried her face in his shoulder. "How could you like her more than me?" she whispered.

"I…" Something caught in his throat. How could he have never seen this coming? How could such serious repercussions come with being a genius in one area while being so inept in others? If he'd had the choice he would've picked reading social situations over winning chess games any day.

"…don't."

Her head lifted up.

He knew he didn't love Temari. He had affection for her, they both had needs that the other could meet, but neither had really expected much of a commitment.

Would she miss him if he left? Even if she did, would she miss him as much as Ino apparently had been missing him?

He had always seen how alike the both of them were, but now he realized their most important difference.

Emotional attachment.

Ino put herself into everything she did. She cared so deeply about people that she left herself open to everyone, even after she'd been hurt, in hopes that she could help someone else. Her controlling nature was just her way of being protective, and her close friends could feel that.

Temari was about distance. She was abrasive and angry, afraid of being abandoned, so she never put herself in that position. She'd often made it clear that she didn't want to depend on him or anyone else.

"Shikamaru?"

She was staring at him with an unreadable expression. He rested a hand on the back of his neck.

"Listen, if you're not doing anything…do you wanna hang out this weekend?"

Ino smiled shakily, then promptly burst into tears. He was apologizing, and even if he didn't say it, she recognized it. And she was relieved.

He sighed and let her soak his shirt. "Troublesome."

**-CanTeen-**

"Hey." Naruto thumped his head on the table and let it rest there. Hinata jumped. When she saw that it was him she smiled (which he returned with a grin), refocusing on her homework.

"Where're Neji and Tenten?"

"I…I think she's getting some things. From her house."

"Oh."

He sat still for about ten seconds, watching her work. She moved hesitantly, aware of his eyes on her. Then he got up.

"I'm bored." He took her hand and pulled her out of the chair. She tripped over herself for a minute before she could keep pace with him.

"Naruto, where are we going?" she asked, her breath gasping slightly.

"I wanna show you something!"

They were out the door and through the woods behind the CanTeen before she could respond. It wasn't as if she would've said no anyway.

He followed a narrow dirt path a ways until it opened into a field, but he didn't stop. Hinata trailed behind him, wondering if he was aware that their hands were still clasped. She felt very childish, but it was nice. He always made her feel that way.

Finally he let her rest. She braced her hands on her knees and looked where he was staring.

It was a bridge over looking a wide river, covered in graffiti. She waited for him to say something, to which he obliged.

"This is my place."

Naruto started to climb up the inclined cement plane. He looked over his shoulder to make sure she was following. "What?"

"I-it l-looks high," she called. Her voice lilted slightly.

"It's fine! You won't fall; I promise!" He ran up to the platform and leaned dangerously close to the edge. "See? Totally safe."

"Naruto!"

"Come on!"

She trembled as she grasped for handholds, but made it up without a scratch. He was already seated and staring pensively out at the water. The blue in his eyes was muted and his chin was in his hand.

"I used to skip school a lot in middle school."

"I know," she said without thinking. Her hand flew to her mouth.

He glanced at her before continuing. "Teachers didn't like me. Actually adults in general didn't like me. So why bother going, y'know?" He chucked a rock into the water. "It's not like I like being alone, I just…"

His grin fell back into place and he scratched his head. "Anyway, I like it up here."

Hinata ached for his loneliness. It was too familiar.

"Do you?" He took in her expression with startled concern. "Like it, I mean."

She gazed at him and tentatively moved closer. "It's beautiful."

* * *

Ergh, I am so unsatisfied with the ending, but anything else feels like too much. It's what took me so long to post this gosh-darn chapter.

Anyways, I have like two or three weeks of school left, so after that, free time and laziness abound!

My best guy friend (who I actually base Naruto's character off of cx) hangs out under this bridge near his house. It's so awesome, but hard to describe if you've never been under one.

Ah well.

I hope I fulfilled at least a few review requests, and thank you very much for leaving them!


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